Fading Façades
by Mikauzoran
Summary: Hao knows that he's met her somewhere before, but he just can't place it. Was it in this life or the last? Who is this strange new X-LAW in black really, and why does she hate Hao? The story of an ancient soul on a mission not even she can fully remember. Updated, but still on hiatus. The current Mikau takes no responsibility for what the Mikau of the past has written. Thank you.
1. Prologue Part One: Darkness Gathered

Mikau: Hello all! This is Kara here. That's right, for all who remember me, I'm back (for now, at least). This may be the only fic I do for awhile, but please read and enjoy! I'm a little nervous about writing fan fics again after being gone so long, so please be nice. Thanks a lot!

_**Disclaimer:**_ I obviously don't own Shaman King.

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Prologue Part One: Darkness Gathered Along The Years

Everyone has something dark in his or her past that haunts them. It plagues their sleep and twists sweet dreams into devilish nightmares. Having had more lives than most, I naturally have more haunting dreams than the average shaman.

My dreams are teeming with the blood and screams of those I've murdered. My nightmares are filled with ghostly visions of the people I couldn't save.

The most common figure in those nightmares is a teenager with shoulder blade-length tangerine hair, flowing, draping his shoulders. His eyes are forest green like a fox's, twinkling with cunning and mischief. His smile is always slanted slightly to the side, a lazy grin, overflowing with confidence, displaying his inflated ego for the world to see.

He stands there at the mouth of the river, smiling just for me. And then the shadows come and swallow him. The next time he appears before me he's covered with blood, and his clothes are torn. He's holding one arm in pain and reaching out to me with the other one. He walks slowly toward me, limping, both legs bleeding profusely. I am unable to move.

"Hao…." His voice is raspy and forced, not at all the caring and friendly tone I remembered.

He grabs at my collar, but is unable to grip. He gives up and leans heavily on me, relying entirely on me for support. I hold him and look down into his bright eyes that are no longer the sparkling hue I remembered. It was as if someone had broken his eyes and let all the color and shine drain out. His eyes were dim and quickly graying.

"It's not their fault, Hao…." He tries to plead with me with his dying breath. "Don't hold it against them…." He begs for me to spare the humans, the very humans that have murdered him.

"Yukio…."

And in an instant the vision is gone and quickly replaced by another. A girl, a girl of the Patch Indian tribe, just about eighteen, sits at a low table, lazily fingering the ivory and ebony pieces of her chess set.

Her dusty orange hair drapes over her shoulders, down her back, and lightly rests on the floor, curled around her feet in its braid like a pet snake. Her eyes are brown, a light brown, the color of melting milk chocolate. She always keeps her eyes downcast, not daring to meet anyone else's gaze, a shy girl by nature, a very blushable girl. Her smile is not the least bit confident. It is small and demure, petite like the girl herself. Every aspect of her is charming and dove-like. Her lips slightly part and reveal small, even, ivory teeth, the color of her precious chess pieces.

The Patch girl looks up and smiles shyly at me. I take a seat opposite her and we begin the game. I am always white; she is always black. She says it's her favorite color. I hear her thoughts: 'It's the color of your eyes. Your beautiful, dark chocolate eyes.' I smile at her schoolgirl crush thoughts.

She loves me. All the girls of the tribe love me. I'm irresistible to women, or so I've been told. I learned in my first life from the best. Dark memories of the tangerine-haired young man return.

"Hao, you're not concentrating." The lovely maiden's voice wakes me from my dreary past as she takes my queen. "You're even worse than usual." She frowns slightly and adjusts her rows of white prisoners.

I can't resist teasing her. I smirk and eye her. "You should see me in bed." I take one of her pawns with my rook.

With one fluid movement of her wrist she moves a bishop into place. "Check mate." Her eyes are cast downward, and her face reveals nothing. Her voice is cold as she tries to make me believe she is unaffected by my raciness.

"Mate? I'd love to." I know I've got her this time as she flinches slightly.

"Hao!" Her eyes tear up as she meets my gaze desperately. "Stop teasing me! I'm engaged to your kinsman and there's nothing either one of us can do about it, so why do you torture me?"

My heart breaks as I look at her, and not for the first time do I feel guilty. I truly do love her.

Just then my 'kinsman' Yohken walks in and sees his fiancée in tears. He automatically assumes that I was the one responsible for those tears. "Hao." He greets coldly.

"Yohken." I reply with even more ice in my voice.

"Has he been patronizing you again, Fade dear?" Yohken softens his tone for the girl.

"No, Hao's never been anything but kind to me. We were just playing chess and I…I broke a nail and was upset so I was crying. It was a misunderstanding." She tries to make excuses for me, but Yohken will have none of it.

"Now, now, Fade dear. Hao, I think you should leave now." The man gives me the evil eye, but when he turns to his beloved, he is all soft eyes and gentle smiles.

Fade breaks away from him and runs to hug me. "Goodbye, Hao. I'll see you later. We can play more then." She hugs me a little too long, a little too familiarly. Yohken notices and glares me out of the room.

The vision fades to black and the next time I see her, she too is bleeding, but unlike Yukio, she is already dead. I find her lying on her bed, blanketed in her own blood. Her body is cold and still. Her hair is stained and in a state of disarray. The corpse is littered with cuts and gashes, and I am shocked to find a bloody knife in my hand.

And that is where my nightmare always ends. First, I witness a dying Yukio, and then I'm plagued with the death of Fade. My mind plays tricks on me when I'm asleep, replaying over and over again the deaths of my friends and family members. And that is where my nightmare always ends. Usually. But tonight it went on.

A little four year-old girl that I've never seen before watches from the top of the stairway as her mother and father fight, screaming and yelling at each other. The girl has sandy orange hair and dazzling cerulean eyes. The father throws his hands up in defeat and turns away saying that a divorce was inevitable. Her mother picks up a poker from the fireplace and whacks the father in the back of the head in a maddening rage while he has his back turned. I can tell the man is dead even before he hits the ground.

The little girl screams, and the mother looks up at the child with fire in her eyes. The girl backs into the corner as her mother stalks maliciously towards her up the stairs. "You…" Her mother seethes.

"No! Mommy, no! Please don't hurt me! Please!!" The girl cries and cries, but to no avail.

I can't take anymore and step in front of the mother as she advances on the child. The madwoman walks right through me like I'm not even there. 'What is this? This is more of a vision than a memory; how can I remember something I've never seen?'

The mother slaps her daughter across the face and locks the child in the attic.

The vision fades and I next see a white padded room, and the pretty blue-eyed girl sits rocking back and forth in the corner, crying. The door of the room is unlocked, and doctors come in and take the straight jacket off the girl. The doctors are followed by the girl's mother who takes the girl and shoves her in the back seat of her car, saying, "So you're not crazy! You're just sick!"

Everything fades away again, and again, like before when things came back into focus, I'm in an entirely different time and place. This time I just hear voices, but I can tell it's the little girl speaking to her mother; only the girl is now grown up.

"It's your fault I'm the way I am. I have only you to thank, and so, I bid you ado." Gun shots. Twenty rounds of cold metal.

_Everything fades, and the erratic sequence of scenes, thinly stitched together, evaporates. I feel myself waking up._

My eyes snapped open, and after blinking repetitively for several seconds my vision became clear. I was in my tent back on the outskirts of Patch Village, and two all-too-familiar faces were looming over me: a young African boy and an old, pale-faced priest stood anxiously looking down at me.

"Is Hao-sama awake?" Opacho chirped.

"Oh good, Master Hao, you're all right." Luca, my keeper, heaved a heavy sigh of relief.

I sat up in bed and glared at the both of them. "You are NEVER allowed to hypnotize me again!"

"Hao's hiccups are gone!" Opacho threw his arms around my neck joyously, and I couldn't stay mad for long. "Opacho was worried when Hao started talking in his sleep."

"What did I say? How long was I out?" I asked nervously. I secretly hoped I hadn't said anything I wouldn't want people to know.

"You were talking about your brother, and then some pretty girl, and then you started to not make sense." Luca informed me. "Fire pokers, attics, insane asylums, machine guns. It really didn't make any sense at all, Master Hao."

I nodded and tried to suppress a depressing look. "I see." I tried to recall the strange end of my nightmare about the little girl with blue eyes. I had never met her before, but there was something familiar about her.

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Mikau: Well, what do you think? I'll try to update regularly if people show an interest in it. Thank you all for reading; until next time!


	2. Part Two: Façade, Human Exterminator

Mikau: Hello again! I'm doing fine, how about you? No reviews yet though…I wonder if anyone is reading this? Well, I hope so. Someone will probably comment soon, so I'll just hold out until then. Anyway, as always, thanks for reading, and I hope you like it!

_**Disclaimer:**_ Do I look like Takei-sensei to you? Of course I don't own Shaman King.

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Part Two: Façade, Human Exterminator For Hire

Our group was camped out in the middle of nowhere. Out in the middle of the desert, to be more exact. Well…there _**was**_ a canyon. We were in the middle of a canyon, in the middle of the desert, in the middle of nowhere, camped out under the stars, on our way to Patch Village. And that, my friends, is a mouthful.

We were a motley group, all different races and nationalities, ten in total. Each had his (or her in the case of Meene) own guardian angel. Well, except one: Façade. She was new to our group and had yet to obtain an angel from Jeanne-sama. She had only a morphing sprite—Faux—for protection, but it was enough.

Façade was a cold, aloft girl no more than seventeen years of age. Her complexion was pale, but she was strong and well muscled. A tough, strong, silent type with a haunting past. Despite that past, she was beautiful.

She had gingery orange hair that hung down by the middle of her neck. Her once exuberant, joyful eyes (now dull with the despair and terror of her childhood) were the same deep hue of sapphire as the night's sky on a clear summer's day.

I sat by the fire playing with my little spark gun and twisting pieces of my emerald hair between my fingers while I looked Façade over. She sat on the opposite side of the bonfire, reading some ancient tome. The rest of our group was already asleep with the exception of Jeanne-sama. I wasn't sure if she slept, but it seemed like a rude question to ask, so I kept my thoughts to myself.

Façade always seemed to be reading, either that or meditating. She said that she was meditating in prayer, but I knew the truth: Façade was an atheist. Sure she knew all the prayers, and she could recite the Bible (including footnotes), but I knew better than to be fooled like the others. She knew everything there was to know about any given religion, and finding no particular religion to her liking, had become an atheist.

"Nice night, isn't it, Façade?" I smiled sheepishly at her. She was beautiful like some demonic angel, but she scared me to death. Façade was not one to be trifled with.

She slowly looked up from her book. I turned bright red as she glared at me through the fire. The flames shrunk before her gaze; this seemed to amuse her, for she suddenly broke out into a fit of giggles and evil smirks. "Oh Ly-kun! You _**do**_ crack me up!" Her grin got even more evil (and seductive) as she stared me down.

"W-what do you mean?" I hated her pet name for me, but I got shivers down my spine, the sexy way she said it. I could feel my face grow hotter the longer she gazed into my eyes. I could feel her eyes searching the deepest depths of my soul…or was I just being paranoid?

Her gaze shifted to the starry night sky, and her look softened. "Oh Ly-kun…you amuse me with your simple-minded innocence…. Lyserg, do you know why my uniform is black?"

I had always wondered why, instead of the standard white X-LAWS uniform, she wore a black one. I had asked Marco, but he only shrugged me off. "No…" I murmured back to Façade.

She smiled slightly, still looking at the sky. "White is the color of innocence. Innocence is ignorance. Ignorance is _not_ bliss like those idiot humans believe. Ignorance is Hell. Black is the color of nothingness…stillness…peace…paradise. I wear black because it represents the peace and paradise I want for this world. The humans are destroying the world as we speak. They are destroying nature 24-7. Evil never sleeps. They will one day destroy so much that there will be nothing left. They are murdering the Earth, and they must be stopped!" She paused as she regained her breath. During her speech she had jumped to her feet and had begun seething.

Once she had calmed herself, she sat back down and picked up her book, reading it again. "And that is why I laughed at you. It is _not_ a 'nice night' at all, for soon the humans will pollute even my beautiful stars."

I gaped at her. "Façade…you sound like Hao…"

I regretted it as soon as it left my mouth. She glared up at me again, this time the fire parted so that I got a clear view of her face. The very earth trembled with her voice. "Don't you EVER…lump me in with that murdering rapist." Her voice was calm, but deadly. If I said another word she would have killed me.

Her voice and personality changed instantly with the next sentence. "Why don't you go to sleep now, Lyserg? It's been a long day. Sweet dreams, Ly-kun." She smiled softly and returned her attention to the old tome.

"I'm sorry, Façade. It was wrong of me to be so rude." I gave a sheepish grin as I quickly retreated.

"I forgive you, just never do it again." She didn't look up from the book.

"I promise." She was beautiful, but no one, not even Hao, would survive her fury. No one messed with Façade Falkland.

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Mikau: Well, that's all for now people, though, I'll probably update in a few days. Hope you liked it. Don't forget to review on your way out; feedback is always helpful. Thanks!


	3. Part Three: Crystal Balls

Mikau: Hello! Last chapter was a little short, but this one is longer. I might do some one-shots sometime soon since I have a few ideas, but we'll see. I'll try to keep updating this regularly.

_**Disclaimer:**_ I own nothing.

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Part Three: Crystal Balls Are For Amateurs

Lately I'd been having trouble sleeping. I normally had small fits of insomnia, but ever since I left home to travel with the X-LAWS my 'small fits' turned into full nights stretching into weeks without sleep.

Instead of sleep, I would read, meditate, and sometimes go for walks. Mostly, I sat around the campfire and stared into the frolicking flames. There was something about them that hypnotized me. Something in the fire made me feel safe for once in my life. I was at home with the fire.

Sometimes Lyserg stayed up with me, just staring at me as I pretended to be reading, but as soon as he went to bed I dropped the book and gazed longingly into the dancing flames as they blazed for me.

And that was what I was doing that evening. I had just sent Lyserg off to sleep and could finally enjoy the company of the fire. We were alone together at last. The flickering flames reminded me of something—someone—far, far away; so far that I could no longer see their face, but near enough so that I could hear their voice. Only I couldn't make out the words.

'It reminds me of my little brother.'

I snapped out of my stupor right then and there. I was an only child. I had no 'little brother'. It was happening again. Thoughts appearing in my head that most certainly didn't belong to me, but still managed to seem familiar and right. Stolen memories came back quickly in short flashes; those weren't mine either. I sighed and tried to accept the fact that I was going insane.

"Maybe these thoughts and memories have something to do with my dreams…." I whispered to the air. I took a deep breath, taking in all the oxygen I could into my lungs. 'Ahhh…my element.' I permitted a shallow smile to glow on my lips for a brief second before retracting it. What if someone saw it? The X-LAWS had never seen me smile. I refused to let them see it…well, except for Lyserg. What harm could he do? I only smiled when totally alone, and then only quickly, not allowing it to linger more than a second or two.

I was a wind witch, not exactly a shaman, but a close cousin of the onmyoji. I could also see into the future. I tried to keep the latter power a secret to avoid being exploited and hunted. Unfortunately, people found out anyway and I was stalked like an animal by its predators.

"Maybe my powers have something to do with the dreams too…." I shifted my eyes slowly around the canyon to make sure no one was watching. I felt eyes on me from somewhere…at least I thought I did, but when I had finished scanning the area I found the entire place empty, desolate, devoid of living beings other than my traveling companions. I exhaled.

The dreams. Those nighttime visions that had driven me to complete and total insomnia. I witnessed my father's death. I watched as Raphael left for good. My mother. The woman I hated above all else. I relived her gruesome torture sessions. I saw people I had never met die too.

I saw a village ablaze, people running for their lives away from the flames. Some of them made it, others did not. I watched the ones that did not escape as they burned to death or were suffocated by the flames. I walked through the village in and out of teepees and buildings made of adobe. Bodies lay strewn everywhere.

There's one room in particular that I always manage to find my way back to. It's always the last room I visit before my terrifying montage of scenes from the burning village ends. I step into one of the houses, and the first thing I notice is the chessboard lying face down, across the room from its table where it's suppose to be. I step carefully over the lovingly handcrafted pawns and queens and knights, making sure I don't step on any of the beautiful pieces.

As I make my way further into the room, I see there's a young man with short brown hair standing over the body of a dead girl lying on the bed. He weeps for her, taking her into his arms and holding her close. The fire is obviously not to be blamed for her death. The blood and cuts littering her skin are proof of her murder.

"He did this to you, didn't he?" The young man seethes over the girl's body. "He was so jealous of us that he had to defile and murder you. I'll get him for this. I will avenge you, my love."

And then, that half of the dream ends and I'm thrown into another, equally unfamiliar place. I've never been to Japan in my life. Last month when the shaman tournament started was the first time I had ever been, but I still managed to have nightmarish flashbacks to over thousands of years ago in a Japanese court.

I'm hiding behind a curtain and there's someone on the other side trying to get me out. "It's for your own good."

"Brother please…" A small voice from the other side of the curtain pleaded with me.

"You won't like what you see if I come talk to you face to face."

Other scenes like that one flew quickly through my mind. Watching the stars on a summer's night with a young boy. Chess games late at night lasting until early in the morning. Fishing and hiking and people watching. Everything flew by so fast that I couldn't even see their faces.

That segment of the dream ended and another began. So many different places and hazy faces that I never saw clearly. Ireland, Britain, Germany, the United States, France, Norway, Iceland, Australia, Russia. So many places flashed by me in a matter of seconds. Whirling passed me in bright vivid colors that hurt my eyes.

Death, revenge, and confusion kept me awake at night. Most of the people I saw I had never actually met, and there were places in those dreams I had never heard of, not to mention been to. But they _were_ familiar in some respects. I knew my way around in those alternative worlds. Some things I had never seen before, I remembered. Fear of these places and people kept me from sleeping.

I felt the eyes on me again. For a second time that evening, I surveyed the campsite. My results were similar to those of my first search. "Façade, you have to get some sleep." I whispered to the desert breeze. I rubbed my eyes, trying to get rid of the sleep that was forming, but I was too exhausted. I put out the fire and walked over to my bedding, taking off my X-LAWS jacket and commando boots, and slipping under the blankets.

My bed was situated away from the others in a recess in the canyon wall. It was the only way I felt safe. I had to sleep away from others with my bed in a corner. It might have seemed strange to the X-LAWS, but luckily they all knew better than to question me.

I pulled the blankets over my head and shut my eyes. I didn't care about the dreams anymore; I needed my sleep. That's not to say I wasn't scared stiff of the dreams, but my body needed rest. This was especially confirmed by a thought before I slipped into a state of unconsciousness: _"Hao's on the move toward the X-LAWS who are currently following Yoh. Hao will be attacking tomorrow. You know what he's after."_

Not exactly a premonition, not exactly a thought. Not really a vision or something revealed by the spirits from the netherworld. My subconscious revealed the future to me, and if it said Hao was coming, he was coming.

"_An all out attack by all of his men. You don't stand a chance."_

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Mikau: Well, now we're getting into the plot. Kind of. Next chapter should be a little bit longer probably. I'll try to update soon. In the mean time, drop me a review and let me know what you think! Thanks!


	4. The Attack At Dawn

Mikau: Hello everyone! Sorry I haven't updated the past few days. I just finished watching the Japanese Shaman King anime yesterday, and today I'm playing the Power of Spirits game for PS2. After just hearing the Japanese voice actors, the English dub voices came as quite a shock. I had a good laugh. Well, hopefully you'll like this chapter.

_**Disclaimer:**_ I don't own Shaman King or its characters.

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The Attack At Dawn

I received a rude, completely uncalled for awakening the following morning before the sun was even up.

"Façade!" The owner of an obtrusive, truly obnoxious voice nudged me with the toe of his boot. "Wake up! We have to move! NOW."

The desert wind picked up, blowing sand in the intruder's face. I folded the corner of my blanket back so that my eyes were partly showing. I glared at my waker for all I was worth.

Marco stood towering over me like a great sequoia in a dense forest. "What part of _now_ don't you understand!?" He didn't even flinch as my small wind gusts threw sand at him.

"I'm not dressed, and you're a man. You also happen to be watching me at this moment, so 'now' really isn't an option for me. Unless, of course, you'd like to see me nude?" I kept my perfect poker face on as I fed him lies.

That did it. He blushed the color of summer roses and went away at once.

I un-caged a small, evil smile for the briefest of seconds and got out of bed. Of course, I was actually fully dressed except for my massive boots and jacket, but Marco didn't know that, and I would pay any price to see him blush and slink away embarrassed as all hell. I was not at all fond of these X-LAWS or what they were doing, but I traveled with them for companionship's sake, and companionship's sake alone.

I put on my boots and jacket and whispered to my sprite guardian, "Faux? Could you get things packed; we're ready to go. It seems urgent. I think Hao is behind it. I got word that he's coming to attack. We don't stand a chance. You'll need to be something fast so that we can escape." I finished lacing my boots and heaved a lead-laced sigh.

My bedding and blankets melted into a moving, transparent, aqua blue blob that floated in mid air. I let one of my small smiles shine for my only friend, Faux. "Thank you, Faux. Maybe, if it wouldn't be too much, a horse?"

Of course, it wouldn't be too much. Faux had done giraffes, whales, and rhinos before. A simple Friesian wouldn't be asking anything at all. My morphing guardian complied with my request, easily transforming into a gorgeous black stallion with a white blaze down his nose. A western saddle was equipped to the back of the horse, and my duffel bag was securely attached to the horse's rump.

"A fine job you've done with this one Faux." I hugged my companion's muzzle softly, and he gently nuzzled my neck, but the tender moment was soon over. I had business to attend to, so I mounted my steed and headed off in the direction Marco had gone. It wasn't long before I saw them all congregated around the Iron Maiden Jeanne. I rode up slowly and waited for someone to brief me on the situation at hand.

"Hao's coming. There's gonna be a big fight." Lyserg was the first to approach me. He seemed to have a sort of fondness for me. The little green X-LAW got too close, and Faux snorted loudly, causing Lyserg to jump back in obvious horror.

Faux didn't like men getting close to me no matter how small or green they may be. I patted Faux lovingly, issuing him a silent 'thank you.' "And what are we going to do about it?"

"Uh…um…" Lyserg, obviously still shaken from my horse's aggressiveness, stuttered like a babbling drunk before actually giving me any worth-while information. "Well, you see the cliff overhanging the canyon? We're heading up there. That's the way to Patch Village, and we're going to keep trucking until Hao derails us with his attack; we'll deal with him once he arrives."

I nodded. Just like the X-LAWS to do nothing about an oncoming threat. _"Hao is waiting up on that cliff. He will slaughter the X-LAWS if they are with you when you pass."_ I shuddered at this revelation.

"Something wrong, Façade?" Lyserg cocked his head curiously up at me.

I stared off into the horizon. The sun was just now coming up. I sighed again. "Stay here, all of you; I'm going by myself." I urged Faux into a thunderous gallop, breaking away from the pack of god-loving Jeanne worshipers.

'**Selflessly** going on alone to save the X-LAWS? How unlike you, **Façade.'** I rolled my eyes as I felt Faux's thoughts.

"I'm not doing it for them; I'm doing it for me. They'd be in my way when I fought Hao if they came with me." I tried to act tough, cold, and distant, but I wasn't fooling anyone, especially not Faux. He knew me better.

'**You** know that you're walking right into a trap, don't **you?'**

"I know." I urged him on faster.

**'We'll** be captured! I refuse to just let you hand yourself over to **Hao!'**

"We won't be captured. I've got a plan. I got a vision of Hao talking to his followers on the cliff. I know what they're going to do." It was a lie. I had no idea the extent of their plans, but I felt I had to say something to calm my guardian.

In truth, I had had a vision of Hao and his followers talking on the cliff, but I hadn't heard what their plan was. I had only seen a boy in floofy blue jeans with star-studded chaps. He wore a poncho as a shirt and had huge disc earrings with stars on them. The boy had dark mahogany hair and rich chocolate eyes that I could have sworn I had seen somewhere before. There was a fairly good-sized group congregated around him, hanging on his every word, but the funny thing was that he seemed no older than myself. If I had to bet, I would have said he was maybe a year or two younger. Nevertheless, people flocked around him, taking his orders very seriously.

I could only assume this was the infamous Hao that the X-LAWS were out to get. I had to admit, although begrudgingly, he was attractive. He had a very charming smile, and I could see other girls easily finding him handsome, but the longhaired hippie look didn't do it for me. I had never formally or informally met him before, but I was pretty sure from the things I had heard about him, I never did want the pleasure of his company.

After he finished issuing orders to his subordinates, he waved them off, and they dispersed to complete their assigned tasks. Only two of Hao's followers stayed after; one was an older gentleman dressed in black. He looked to be some sort of holy man, judging by the cross tattooed on his chin and his dark, priestly vestments. The other remaining follower was a young African boy with thick, bushy, black hair. Hao looked at these two and smiled. It was a sort of exhausted smile, like he hadn't been getting enough sleep. I knew the feeling all too well.

The priest turned to Hao and asked, "Master Hao, are you sure this is the girl? She doesn't really look it."

"It's her, Luca. I'm absolutely certain." Hao looked down into the canyon at the gathered gaggle of X-LAWS. He eyed me especially as I rode up to them on Faux.

"How does Hao-sama know she is _the_ girl?" The African boy, Opacho I think, chimed in.

"I just know." Hao shrugged back a reply.

"And what do we do with her once we capture her?" Luca returned the volley. "You never fully made that part of the plan clear."

Hao's shallow smile flattened. "She can see the future, correct?" A collective nod from the peanut gallery. "Then she can find out how to get to the Great Spirits. If I take the Great Spirits then I'll become the Shaman King and rule the world, allowing me to finally get rid of the humans once and for all. Also, don't you think it would be useful to have someone who can tell the future around? Plus, I've got all sorts of things I'm planning on doing with her and her powers." An evil smile arose on Hao's lips. I had liked the shallow smile much better, because now this one gave me the creeps.

"Hao, you're not going to hurt her are you?" Luca eyed his charge inquisitively.

Hao was silent for a minute. He sighed lightly and finally answered. "If I have to, I will. If she resists, mild torture is inevitable."

"But Hao-sama!" Opacho looked up at his master with watery eyes. "Hao can't! He just can't! She's been through so much already; Hao just can't hurt the pretty girl."

Hao picked up the child and rocked him back and forth, smiling gently. "Opacho, sometimes you have to use brute force to get what you want." He glanced back down to the gathering of X-LAWS. I broke away from the group on my horse. "She's coming." Hao set Opacho down again. "Luca, tell everyone to get into position. It's time."

I rode as fast as I could up the canyon, determined to make a clean get away from the X-LAWS. I slowed down once I reached the top of the cliff where I had seen Hao speaking to his men. No one was there. I approached slowly, almost completely stopping.

"Something isn't right, Faux. I just saw them right here in my vision. Where could they have gone in such a little amount of time?"

**'Be **extremely careful. I smell a trap. If he ambushes us, slap my neck and I'll change into an eagle so we can fly out of here. Would you be okay going up that **high?'**

I smiled at his concern. "I'll be fine."

"Excuse me! Miss!"

I snapped around to find none other than the man I was trying to avoid right behind me.

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Mikau: Yay! Hao and Façade finally come face to face. Next chapter should be interesting, so stay tuned for their verbal jousting match. Thanks for reading this far, and please drop a review on your way out; it motivates me to update faster. Thanks again!


	5. Without A Parachute

Mikau: Hello everyone! Here's the new chapter. Hao and Façade meet at last. I personally like this one a lot, and I hope you will as well. Enjoy!

_**Disclaimer:**_ I own nothing…sadly.

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Without A Parachute

The girl on the horse looked startled for a minute, but quickly regained her composure. She glared at me with fervor and unimaginable hate.

I flashed her one of my fetching grins as I walked toward her. "Hello there!" I approached slowly while speaking, distracting her with my voice so that she hopefully wouldn't notice my advance and try to escape on that black steed of hers. She could easily jump the canyon on that thing, as it was only a few meager feet, and she would be out of range of my followers before they could capture her.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. I'm Hao Asakura." I kept smiling, trying to keep her still long enough for my followers to sneak up on her.

She kept giving me the evil eye and refused to speak. I did, however, hear her thoughts. 'Faux, back up slowly—no sudden movements. He could kill us in an instant. We'll have to play this one very carefully if we want to get away. I'll try to keep him talking long enough for our escape. Start backing up now.'

The horse bobbed its head, as if nodding, and began slowly stepping backward. I was amazed at the girl's power over the creature using only her thoughts.

Her frown diminished a little and she opened her mouth to speak. "My name is of little to no importance. You wouldn't happen to be _the _Hao Asakura, would you? The one that wants to destroy the world?"

I smiled at her misconceptions. "Yes, but I'm afraid you have me all wrong. I don't want to destroy the world; I'm a humanitarian."

"I beg your pardon, but I've never heard of a humanitarian who wants to eradicate human beings from the earth." Was her quick, sharp reply.

'She's good.' "True. Would you take 'eco-activist' then?"

She faked an amused smile. "I would, except eco-activists usually don't destroy hundreds of miles of forests with fire magic."

I liked this girl. Had I finally met my intellectual equal? "You're right again. You should be on your school's debate team. You'd scare the pants off the competition."

Her smile disappeared. "I never went to school. My mother wouldn't allow it."

This sort of shook me. I found it extremely odd. Wasn't there a law or something that said all children must attend school? Maybe she didn't come from a country where that law applied. "I never went to school either. How is it that you seem to be fairly intelligent when you've never had any schooling?"

She thought about it for a minute, but then responded. "One…sometimes encounters teachers in one's life that one did not meet in a school."

"I see." I smiled again at her. "The same applies for me." I didn't let my smile falter even as the horse came within a few feet of the edge. "Would you like to travel with me for awhile? I could use someone who can provide me with intelligent conversation."

"No. I don't trust you as far as I can throw you, and I think this little charade has gone on long enough. Faux!" She slapped the side of her horse's neck, and he transformed into an eagle the size of a small car. The bird took off, and the girl made her escape.

I growled softly under my breath. "A morpher. Attack! Spirit of Fire!" My followers down below in the canyon pounced on the unsuspecting X-LAWS, and my fiery monster rose out of nowhere, plucking the bird from the air. Unfortunately, the girl didn't stay on the bird and was thrown overboard, plummeting toward the earth.

I sighed and shook my head. "Getting sloppy, Spirit of Fire." I teleported in a burst of flames to catch her in midair. She kicked and she screamed, trying to get away from me, but I held fast to her.

"Let me go you…you…jerk!" I felt the sharp sting of her palm to my cheek.

I clenched my teeth and forced a grin. "If I let go of you, you'll plummet to your premature death." I threatened in my most sickening voice. "Just look down!"

She did, and what color there was drained from her face. "Oh my god…" She looked completely terror-stricken. I soon found out exactly how absolutely terrified she actually was. Her whole body tensed and her arms tightened around my neck to the point where it was hard to breathe. She squeezed her eyes shut and buried her face in my chest.

The death-glare I had been giving her softened, and my heart really went out to this girl. Just a minute before she had been feisty and defiant, but within a matter of seconds, her will had been completely shattered.

I felt sort of sympathetic toward her. Normally, I had a stockpile of smart remarks in my loaded deck, ready to be dealt at a moment's notice, but her quick, witty replies kept me on my toes the entire conversation. It had been so long since I had had a conversation with someone who could rival me intellectually, and I was disappointed to find myself rusty. To put it frankly, I was fascinated and downright curious about this girl. To think, a girl of such caliber broke so easily, it was saddening. I made a mental note of how fragile she was.

I teleported back down to the cliff-ledge and watched my men chase off the X-LAWS. I smiled and nodded. They had done a good job.

I looked back down at the damsel in my arms, wondering what had shaken her so. I tried to set her down, but she clung to me. "You can get down now; it's safe."

Her eyes slowly opened, at first showing her immense fear, but that particular feeling drained from her eyes, quickly ebbing away only to be replaced by a look of intense hate. She resumed kicking and struggling until I gave up and just dropped her.

I should have been able to guess what the result of my actions would be, but somehow I just didn't see it coming. She jumped to her feet and smacked me across the face, knocking me to the ground.

"How dare you! You bloody rapist! How dare you manhandle me like that!" Her cerulean orbs flashed with rage as she seethed. "What gives you the right to touch me like that and hold me like that?!"

"Would you rather I'd let you plummet to your doom? I don't think it would have served either of us well if I had let you die." I picked myself up and brushed off the dirt and sand from my poncho. "Besides, you weren't complaining when we were falling. Oh no, then you were holding on to me for dear life. If anyone has the right to be complaining about being touched or held, it'd be me."

She hit me again, acquainting me with the desert sand a second time. "You jerk! You fire freak! How dare you speak to me like that! After you attacked me and put my life in danger! Wasn't it your spirit that made me almost fall to my death? You're the one who screwed up in the first place!"

I growled softly under my breath and got to my feet once more, my pride a little bruised. I opened my mouth to combat her assault, but she rudely cut me off.

"Don't bother trying to defend yourself. It doesn't matter what you say anyway; it's not like I care. Now, as long as we're here, fight me, Hao Asakura! Today is the day that you pay for your sins! Faux!" She impaled me with her tinfoil-sharp glare and called for her spirit.

"Your little morpher won't be helping you." I bit bitterly. "Spirit of Fire."

Her eyes widened in dread as my flaming companion appeared behind me, holding her own spirit tight in its fist. "Let him go!" She begged, breaking down again. "Let Faux go! It's me you want! Don't hurt him! Don't—" Her pleas deteriorated into a fit of coughs, and she gasped for air.

"Hey, are you okay?" I asked nervously, bending down to make sure she was all right.

"I'm…fine." She looked up at me, blood dribbling from the corner of her mouth, and gave a reassuring, slanted, sideways grin. Her eyes rolled back, and she passed out in my arms.

"That smile…it was like…_his_." I stared down at the redhead cradled in my embrace. To be honest, I was more than a little spooked. She reminded me of a man long dead. A man I had called my brother.

"Master Hao!" Luca called to me as he and Opacho made their way to the cliff edge.

My smallest follower's eyes widened when he saw the girl's limp body. "Hao-sama said he wouldn't hurt her unless she caused trouble."

"Master Hao, what happened?" The priestly man bent down and took the X-LAW from my arms.

"I don't know. We were arguing and she just started coughing and coughing and there was blood and she just passed out! I swear I didn't touch her; she just passed out!" I spit out quickly, stunned at what had happened.

"Shh…that's enough, Hao." Luca hushed me. "She'll be okay for now; she's still breathing, but we should get her back to the campsite quickly so that she can rest."

"Right." I nodded, still a little out of it.

"Is Hao-sama okay? He's very pale." Opacho blinked up at me in concern.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine." I tried to shake off the uneasy feeling that was looming over me as we transported the black-clad X-LAW back to our campsite outside of the Patch Village.

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Mikau: Well, that's all for now, folks. Hopefully I'll get the next chapter up soon. I'm excited because it's the one where we see how Hao first met Yukio. Drop me a review on the way out, please, and thanks for reading!


	6. Meeting The Fox Child

Mikau: Hello again! I'm excited because I beat the Shaman King: Power of Spirit game today. I got both endings, and didn't particularly like either one. Well, I guess the good ending was better because you could see Hao and Opacho in the background of one of the pictures. Oh well, on to the chapter!

_**Disclaimer:**_ I still own nothing.

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Meeting The Fox Child

"How is she?" I paced outside the tent until Luca came out.

"Better." Our resident medic sighed, wiping his brow of sweat with his sleeve. "Her fever has gone down. She's sleeping now, but she seems to be having nightmares. She'll be out for a few days, Hao-sama. You may go in and visit her, if you'd like."

"Thank you." I nodded. "I think I will."

She lay there in bed, tossing and turning, mumbling in her sleep, "Raph, come back. Don't leave me with her. Don't let her put me in there with all those nut-jobs."

The girl was in a cold sweat, the liquid permeating the pillows and sheets, and having trouble breathing.

"What's wrong with her?" I turned to Luca for answers.

"She is sick. I believe she always has been, and one day it will kill her. She is far more frail than we knew." He calmly set to work caring for his charge, laying a cold compress on her forehead.

"She's ill? Just like…"

"Hao-sama?" My follower turned to look at me when I suddenly stopped speaking.

"It's nothing." I assured him, taking my leave. "I'm going to bed."

I returned to my tent and prepared to sleep, all the while that girl's face haunting my thoughts. She seemed familiar somehow. The way she had smiled at me, her morpher spirit, those eyes, that hair, now her mysterious sickness. She reminded me of my elder brother from my first life, Yukio.

I went to sleep, and the dreams came, yet again.

_I was a young boy, maybe five or six. I had just avenged my mother's death by killing that corrupt monk, Densen, who had murdered her. Unfortunately, I had defeated him at the price of my first friend and spirit, Ohachiyo's life. That was when I gained the power to read others' thoughts._

_The state officials that the monk was traveling with seized me, and I was brought to the house of an aristocrat, the governor of the province, where my fate would be decided. I was taken to a wide, open room with wooden floors. Servants and officials were seated on cushions leading up to a raised platform where someone sat, hidden behind a curtain._

"_My lord," One of the officials holding me addressed the man on the dais at the head of the room. "I regret to inform you that your most highly esteemed uncle, the monk Densen has been slain."_

_The lord began to cough softly, trying to cover his bout of laughter. "What sad news you bring, good herald. I know not what has come over me. Some devil has possessed me and brought both tears and laughter to my eyes and throat." _

_To me, the man sounded more pleased than anything else that his uncle was dead. _

"_Tell me, good sir, what manner of beast or man has slain my _esteemed_ uncle." He said it in such a mocking way. "Who must I kill to avenge his death?"_

"_This youth here, my lord." The other official bowed low to the man on the platform._

"_Surely you jest." The aristocrat sighed. "Do you think I have time for your silly games? I have a country to help run, by the grace of the gods. How was it that this boy came to slay the monk Densen?"_

"_He is a demon!" Cried one official._

"_The son of the fox, Asanoha, that Densen exorcised!" The other chimed in._

"_Don't you speak to me of foxes!" The lord tensed and raised his voice. Foxes seemed to be a sore spot for him. "Tell me by what method this child has murdered my uncle."_

"_We know not, my lord." The first official looked at the other for help._

"_Were you not there?" The governor growled, getting fed up with this farce._

"_We were," the second official tried to explain, "but it happened so fast. We did not see his weapon, but one minute Densen was living, the next he lay dead on the ground."_

"_All we know is the boy attacked us, and then Densen lay slain." The first finished up._

"_Are you trying to tell me that this child killed my uncle with an invisible weapon?" The man behind the curtain sounded less outraged and more intrigued by this point._

"_It seems so, my lord." The first official kowtowed some more in hopes of abating the lord's anger._

"_Most interesting." The curtain parted, unveiling a beautiful young man in his mid-teens with emerald eyes and tangerine hair down to his shoulder blades. He wore pristine, white court robes and, what I thought was, a silly looking, tall, black hat. His face was thin, and his eyes big and penetrating, like those of a fox spirit._

"_Hello there, Asaha-Douji…or is it Mappa-Douji that you're going by these days? I'm Yukio, the lord of this house, and it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance." He smiled kindly down at me as he rose from his platform and approached, shuffling to avoid tripping over his long pants legs. His smile was the lazy, sideways kind, the kind that used the whole face and extended even to the eyes. A genuine smile._

_The spell of silence was instantly broken with the lord's words. Everyone gasped._

"_Yukio-sama! You must not expose yourself to the public like that! And especially not to a filthy commoner!" Yukio's tutor, Kenji Tanaka, a dark-haired, spindly man, shrieked in horror as his young charge rose from the dais and emerged from behind the curtain. "You're sure to become ill with your weak constitution!" _

"_Nonsense." Yukio waved his tutor's concerns without a second thought. "Bring a pillow for me to sit on, and unhand that boy and get him a cushion too."_

_The young lord's instructions were immediately followed, and I found myself sitting on a comfy pillow, face to face with Yukio, the teenage aristocrat._

_I found it hard to look at him directly. Even at a young age, I knew that he was above me, and it was wrong for us to be sitting and talking so familiarly._

"_So," Yukio started up once we were situated. "what name did you say you go by?"_

"_I was named Asaha after my mother Asanoha. My name can also be read Mappa…Sir." I added, knowing what this powerful Adonis could do to me if I upset him._

_Yukio winced at my formality. "'Sir'? Do I look that old? I'm fifteen and a half, not much older than you! Call me Yukio."_

_I looked up to see Tanaka-san cringing at Yukio's request._

"_I had better not, Yukio-sama." I mumbled, my head low._

_Yukio sighed. "Ah well, 'Mappa-Douji', your friend gave you that name, didn't he? But he's gone now. Besides, 'Mappa' isn't a very advantageous name."_

_I was about to ask how he knew about Ohachiyo, but he continued dissecting my name before I could open my mouth._

"_Your other name, 'Asaha', you're named for your mother, aren't you? Asanoha and Asaha…isn't that a little confusing? Wouldn't you like your own name? What if we took the character for leaf from your mother's name and combined it with the character for king? What do you think? That way you can keep your mother's namesake, but still have your own name. Would it be okay for me to call you 'Hao'?" He paused and tilted my chin up slightly. "What do you think, Hao?"_

"_I-I humbly accept the name you have given me, Yukio-sama." I bowed a little lower._

"_Hey, only accept it if you like it." He sighed. "And please don't use 'sama' with me."_

"_My lord," Tanaka tried to call Yukio's attention back to the matter at hand "shouldn't you be sentencing this boy to death to avenge your most highly esteemed uncle, not bestowing upon him a new name?"_

"_Ah, yes." Yukio seemed to come back to his senses. "The sentencing. Right. The boy's fate will depend on how he answers these next three questions." Yukio smiled and turned back to me. "Can you count, Hao?"_

"_Up to one hundred." I gulped, remembering what Ohachiyo had taught me._

"_Good." Yukio beamed. "If someone would open the door to the balcony."_

"_Yukio-sama, the air outside is dirty! Breathing it will only make your condition worse!" Tanaka-san cried._

"_It'll be fine, Tanaka-san." Yukio shrugged. "Please have the door opened."_

_The screen door parted, and Yukio escorted me out to the balcony, Tanaka-san close behind us._

"_Hao, how many birds do you see on that tree limb over there?" Yukio asked and pointed._

"_There are three birds, Yukio-san." I toned down the formality a little, hoping to please him._

"_Very good!" The older boy smiled and praised me._

"_But, my lord!" Tanaka-san protested, "There are but two birds on that branch! The boy obviously can't count."_

_Yukio looked back at the branch as one of the birds flew off. "Oh. I suppose you're right, Tanaka-san. One of them just flew away, and now there are only two."_

"_No, my lord, there is but one bird now that the other has gone."_

"_Regardless," Yukio raised a shoulder disinterestedly, "'three' was the answer I was looking for. Now, for the next task." Yukio walked back inside, and I followed at his heels. "Open the door to the veranda."_

_The door was opened, and my next task was presented to me. "Hao, do you see that man with the begging bowl down my the stream?"_

"_Yes, Yukio-san."_

"_Place this sutra in his bowl and whisper this into his ear. Come back after he leaves." Yukio handed me a sutra and whispered a simple chant into my ear. "Got that?"_

"_Yes, Yukio-san." I nodded and set about my mission. These silly tasks seemed to have nothing to do with what my destiny would be, but if they would make Yukio happy, I would do them. I completed my quest and quickly returned to Yukio._

"_But, my lord, there was no one there down by the stream." I heard Tanaka-san argue as I came back._

"_I've completed your second test, Yukio-san." I quietly informed the god-like lord._

"_Very good. I see that he's gone." Yukio took his seat on the cushion, and everyone rushed to sit lower than him. "My third task is a question: would you be willing to work and study hard every day for the rest of your life, Hao?"_

"_I would if you ordered me to, Yukio-san." I bowed low like everyone else._

"_Very well then." Yukio cleared his throat, getting ready to try my crime. "This child, Hao, for the crime of murdering my esteemed uncle, the monk Densen, shall pay with his life—"_

_I froze in fear, praying for mercy. I didn't want to die._

"—_training to become an onmyouji as my apprentice." Yukio smiled softly at me, patting me on the shoulder. "From this day forward, Hao shall live here as a member of the court, training under me as my apprentice and younger brother."_

_This announcement floored the officials and stunned the rest into silence. All but Tanaka-san, that is. "Yukio-sama! How can you let your uncle's murderer go free? You're even going so far as to reward the little urchin!"_

"_You'll be careful in the future, Tanaka, as to how you speak about my little brother, for when I die without children, he shall be my heir." Yukio cast a deadly glance back at the scholar._

_He then turned to me with a lazy, lopsided smile. "Come, Hao. We must get you cleaned and clothed. You look like you've never seen a bath in your life. How would you like to bathe with your aniki?"_

_I was just as stunned as the rest. As he scrubbed me clean in the bath, I found my voice. "Why? I killed your uncle. It was your duty to avenge his death by killing me. Why then did you spare me and then even go so far as adopting me?"_

_Yukio smiled his slanted grin and shrugged. "There was no love lost between that pompous crook and myself. Perhaps I'll tell you sometime. I suppose I could have just killed you to uphold those bogus standards and expectations, but I can see your potential. You're special. You're a shaman, just like me."_

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Mikau: Yay! I think Yukio is my favorite OC in this story. He's fun to write, so I hope you guys enjoy him too. Oh yes, I almost forgot! Thank you to SaChan22 for putting this story on your story alert, and to kibasgirl521 for putting this story in your favorites. It makes me feel so much better to know people are reading this. Because I had no reviews, I didn't know if anyone liked it at all. Thanks for reading, and please review!


	7. The Captive

Mikau: Hello everyone! Here's the new chapter! I'm almost done re-reading the Shaman King manga, and I'm really excited to see the true ending. I'm also reading YuYu Hakusho's manga. I have all the anime on DVD, but I never read the manga. Now I want to rewatch that too!

_**Disclaimer:**_ I do not own Shaman King or its characters.

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The Captive

My eyes cracked open as I gradually regained consciousness. I winced as a wave of searing pain hit me. My lungs felt like they were burning. I had overexerted myself again and had paid the price.

"I see you're up." A tall, dark man with a cross tattooed on his chin looked down at me, feeling my forehead for fever. "Are you feeling any better? You can take this for the pain."

I struggled against his hands and glared at the concoction he tried to hand me. "I'm fine." I shuddered against the overwhelming pain from my chest.

"She does not look fine to Opacho." A small, African child with omelet-sized eyes peeked his head over the side of my bed. "She has been unconscious for two days already, and she's had a high fever. Luca has had to keep a close eye on her because she has stopped breathing several times."

"Well, I'm fine." I grumbled softly, giving them a vicious glare. "Who are you people anyway?"

"I am Luchist." My attending physician introduced himself. "Though, I am affectionately called 'Luca'. This precocious youth is Opacho. And you are?"

"No one of consequence." I huffed, holding myself tight to keep from falling apart.

"Opacho doesn't think so." The tiny, orange poncho-clad boy climbed up onto my bed and stared me down with his ostrich egg eyeballs. "There are people who think this girl is very important."

"Some people call me Façade." I gave up and muttered, taking the vial from Luca and downing it. I gagged as soon as I tasted the vile liquid on my tongue. "What is this, motor oil?!"

"I'll be the first to admit that it doesn't taste pleasant, but it will help, I assure you." Luca took the test tube back and washed it in the sink.

"Where am I?" I looked around the little tent, but found no clues to my location.

"Just outside Patch Village." Opacho answered.

"How did I get here?" I entreated, hoping to get a more fleshed-out answer.

"Façade was carried here." The little imp responded again.

"Why?" I gritted my teeth and endured the ambiguity.

"Façade was ill." The innocent smile remained on his sweet face.

"Thanks." I sighed in frustration, giving up. "Thanks a lot for saving me from that monster."

"What monster would that be?" Luca returned to my side and handed me some vitamins and a glass of water.

I calmly swallowed my pills and laid back down, my head starting to hurt. "That murdering pyromaniac, Hao Asakura. I don't know what would have happened to me if he had gotten his hands on my power. Thank you again for saving me, but how did you manage to do it? I didn't think anyone could beat him."

Luca and Opacho traded 'Oh shoot' glances as they scrambled to come up with something. Unfortunately, their efforts went to waste because at that moment, in walked none other than the monster himself.

"Hey, I was passing by, so I thought I might as well see how she was doing." The devil himself waltzed into the room, asking about my well-being.

"You." I seethed.

"Oh. You're up. How are you feeling?" The beast sauntered on up to my bed and put a hand to my forehead.

"Get off of me! Don't touch me!" I lashed out at him, throwing a pillow. "So you're his followers, are you?!"

Hao caught the pillow and put it back at the head of the bed. "Well, she certainly looks better; she's far more lively than when I last checked on her."

"She certainly is, Hao-sama, but I don't think such exertion is good for her health." Luca came over to try to calm me down. "You're going to put yourself back in a coma if you don't stop."

"I told you, I'm fine!" I shouted back, ignoring him and throwing myself out of bed. "Hao Asakura, fight me. Give back my spirit and fight me to the death!"

He only rolled his beautiful, dark eyes at me. "Calm down before you hurt yourself; you're no use to me dead." Then a thought came to him. "Unless you want to be fed to my Spirit of Fire."

I pulled out the knife I had hidden in my pants pocket and rushed him, stabbing him in the thigh. "I'd die before I'd help you!"

"OW! God damn you!" Hao fell to the ground as Luca hastened to restrain me. The fire lord pulled out my dagger and glowered at me. "See what you've done? You've ruined a perfectly good pair of my pants."

To my surprise, the wound I thought I had inflicted was no more than a scratch once the knife was removed. "You're not human." I gasped for breath as my lungs started to tighten.

"Correct." He got to his feet and brushed himself off. "I am a shaman. Now, just who are you?" Hao took my chin in his hand and gently lifted my face towards his own.

"Like I'd tell you my name." I spit in his face and growled. "What do you want from me?!"

"This is Façade." Luca introduced us, sitting me back on my bed. "Master Hao would like you to tell him the location of the Great Spirits and a few other details that will help him steal their power and escape without a hitch. He knows of your power to know what others have no way of knowing, and he believes you will be an asset to us and our ventures."

"I'll never help you!" I screeched.

"Perhaps I can persuade you otherwise." Hao's frown turned to a menacing grin. "Luca, Opacho, if you would leave us for a short while?"

"Master should be careful with Façade. She is very fragile. May Opacho remind Hao-sama that Façade is more useful if she is alive and conscious." Opacho warned as they left.

"Dually noted." Hao's sickening smile spread to his eyes.

We were alone. I got to my feet and made sure to never turn my back to him.

"You don't trust me." His evil smirk turned to a cheerful grin as he sat down on a nearby crate. "Take a seat, I just want to chat a little."

"I'll stay standing." I wouldn't be fooled by his mock benevolence. "What did you want to discuss?"

"Before, when you were about to pass out on the cliff, you smiled at me and said you were fine." He carefully scrutinized me, searching my eyes for something.

I raised an eyebrow at him. "I did not."

"Well, maybe you don't remember." He shrugged and suggested.

"I would never smile. Especially not for you." I curtly replied. "What did you really want to talk about?"

"Have we met before?" He stood and slowly approached me.

I stiffened and backed away until I bumped into the bed. "No. Never. Stay back."

"I'm sorry." He stopped half a foot in front of me and softly stroked my cheek. "I could have sworn I've seen you somewhere. Your eyes are very familiar, and somehow I feel your soul calling out to mine."

I got caught up in his eyes, and my terror started to melt. I could feel it too—our souls resonating. "You remind me of my little brother." The words left my lips, but they were not my own, just like the visions and memories that plagued me.

Then, my self-awareness started to return, and I began to shake off the daze. "I don't have a little brother. Hey! Get off me you murderer!" I gave him a hardy slap that sent him flying to the ground.

"Hey!" He barked back. "Will you stop slapping me already!? That hurts!"

"Then don't touch me!" I snapped decisively, like a shark.

"Fine." The fire freak simmered. "I'm leaving, but first I wanted to tell you that you have free run of the campsite, but don't you dare try running away because it's no use. Good night, Façade. I hope you're eaten alive by bedbugs!" He turned on a dime and left in a huff.

"Fine! I hope you get devoured too! By mosquitoes!" I childishly called after him. "Stupid devil." I turned on my heel and returned to my cot. As I drifted off to sleep, the visions came to torture me anew.

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Mikau: Well, hope you enjoyed it! Please let me know what you think by dropping me a review. Thanks!


	8. The Patch Bride

Mikau: Hello everyone! Sorry it took so long to update this time; I'm replaying Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask. It's my favorite so far of the series, but I never bothered to get all the heart pieces and all when it came out when I was, like, ten, so I'm going back now and getting everything. The hardest part so far has been the Clock Town shooting gallery. I had to try so many times, and it was so challenging that I cried. I eventually beat it though. That's what counts. Way off subject, aren't I? Anyway, this chapter's about Fade and the Patch version of Hao. Enjoy and review please!

_**Disclaimer:**_ I only own my OC's and the plot.

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The Patch Bride

In my dream, I saw that girl again. She had long, braided, red hair and light brown eyes. She wore a white skirt that went down to her ankles and a matching tank-top. Around her neck hung a necklace of beads and animal teeth and claws. Two eagle feathers protruded from her red headband.

I had seen her in many of my dreams. I watched as she did laundry, tended the crops, watched the children, and chatted with her friends. She also played chess. There was a handsome man that came, and they always played chess together. I could tell that she loved him, but there was another man that always came and pushed the two apart.

She died in the end. They argued, and she was violated and murdered. I saw them talking, but I could never hear what they said. She died, and her beloved chess pieces were scattered on the floor, covered in her blood.

_I was traveling through the desert to find the Patch Village, leaving my own tribe behind. I had been found as a baby, abandoned, and the Toho tribe had taken me in and raised me. _

_They knew I was a Patch, though—because I was strange. Because I saw things that others could not. I knew things that I had no way of knowing. I always tried to think of myself as 'special'. Different didn't always have to be a bad thing._

_I was leaving my tribe to marry into the Asakura family at the Patch Village. Yohken Asakura was my husband-to-be's name. I secretly wondered if he were handsome. I hoped that he would be kind and not too hard on the eyes. I knew it was too much to ask for him to be very attractive. I knew an arranged marriage wouldn't be the dream I had hoped for. I knew that I probably wouldn't love him._

_Nevertheless, through the desert I traveled to meet my fiancé and establish a place for myself in the Patch tribe. I took with me only what fit in my small, cloth bag. I carried a canteen of water, some bread and fruit, a blanket, and my prized chess set. Other than that I had only the clothes on my back._

_I was a little frightened of the fate that lie in wait for me, but I was determined to stand strong and be adaptable. I had my chess set with me, so I had nothing to fear._

_I arrived after two days of travel, sometime in the mid-afternoon. I was famished by that time, having run out of food the day before and water that morning. The villagers fed me a hardy meal and gave me a spare set of clothing to change into once I had washed._

_That evening, I met with the council that would decide whether or not I would be accepted into the tribe. They gathered around me, inspecting me head to foot._

_I stood tall and still, trying to look desirable._

"_She has wide hips." One man observed. "She'll have an easy time baring many children."_

"_Her breasts are large enough to hold much milk to feed multiple children." Another commented._

_I held in my outrage at their treatment of me. I had been warned that they would scrutinize me like livestock when I got there to make sure I was worth my bridal price. I endured it as long as it meant I got a roof over my head and food on my plate._

"_She has a healthy appetite, and she seems to clean herself well." Another one of the elders spoke to those gathered as if I weren't there._

"_She's so thin, though." One woman pointed out._

"_She's right." A man snickered. "One night with her, and he'll rip her to shreds."_

"_Now, don't be indecent." A mother with three babies whapped the perverted man on the head. "Perhaps the Toho don't eat as well as we Patch? She'll fill out, I'm sure, once we get some food in her."_

"_What do you say, Yohken? She's your bride. What do you think of her?"_

_A relatively handsome man with shoulder-length brown hair, brown eyes, and a solemn expression stepped forward to evaluate me. "She's pretty enough, and she'll bare children well, but what sort of power does she have?"_

_Everyone seemed to be waiting for someone else to answer, so I finally spoke up for myself. "I know the future, the present, and the past." I claimed meekly. "I know what no one else knows."_

"_She speaks for herself." One voice in the crowd gasped._

"_Do the Toho not teach their daughters etiquette?" Another snorted._

"_There is no one else to speak for me, so why not just tell you myself? Who would know my powers better than myself? Unless you wanted to talk with my spirit? Faux?" My morpher came out and sat on my shoulder in the form of a raven, cocking his head to the side._

"_Maybe she will be a good wife after all." Yohken shrugged. "Take her to her tent so that she can rest, and send an attendant with some dinner."_

_By the time I got settled in, I was hungry again. I didn't have much to put away since my food and water were all gone. I hung my canteen by the door, placed my folded blanket at the end of my bed, and set my chessboard on the small, wooden table._

"_Um…excuse me," A sultry male voice called from outside my tent, "but would you happen to be hungry? They told me to bring you some dinner. May I come in?"_

_I quickly straightened my clothes and made sure there was nothing in my teeth. "Yes, thank you. Please come in."_

_The tent's flaps were drawn back, and a gorgeous young man with long, mahogany hair and black, coffee bean eyes came in shirtless, carrying a tray of fruit and fish. "Where would you like me to put this?"_

_I stared at him for a long time, taking in his chiseled abs, lightly browned skin, silky hair, intelligent eyes, handsome face, and perfect lips._

"_Um…Are you okay?"_

_I jumped once those lips started moving. I blushed like a rose once I realized that I had been staring at him. "I'm terribly sorry. I'm awfully tired, and I just—over there on the table is fine."_

_He looked at the table, already full because of my chess set. "Um…how about the bed?"_

"_Bed?" I gulped._

"_Yeah." He came to stand in front of me, our bodies inches apart. "The bed." He reached around me and set down my tray on my cot. "Don't get any ideas; it's not going to happen." He smirked and turned to leave._

"_I wasn't—!" I started to defend myself, but then realized that I really was after all._

_He paused at the door, shaking his head at me. "If you weren't my kinsman's bride." He looked back at my chessboard and Faux. All of the sudden his playful expression changed. Then he looked questioningly at me. "Yukio?"_

_I shook my head, a little flustered. "My name is Fade."_

"_Sorry. Just my mind playing tricks on me." And he was gone._

_A second later, a pudgy girl walked in with a tray of food. "Um, I've come with your dinner, Miss Fade. My name is Lilac, but I'm called Pumpkin; I'll be taking care of you until you marry into the Asakura family and go to Japan."_

_I cocked my head to the side and blinked. "Thank you, but that gentleman that just left already brought my dinner."_

_Pumpkin blinked slowly, brushing her bushy brown hair out of the way so that it no longer obstructed half of her face. "Hao did?"_

"_Is that his name?" My eyes brightened as I learned new information about the attractive, young shaman._

"_Oh…I see." Pumpkin shook her brown locks sympathetically at me. "You like him. Well, everyone likes him, but he's an odd one. He likes to keep to himself, and he doesn't get along well with the others. He's one of the ten priests. You don't want to get involved with him, though; he has a wife and many lovers besides."_

"_Oh." I sighed, my enthusiasm a little deflated. "That's a shame. Though, I suppose I'm engaged anyway, so it shouldn't matter."_

"_Hao's not picky if you'd want to have an affair with him despite all that." Pumpkin blushed profusely, her chubby cheeks lighting up the color of cool flames. "He even lay with me once."_

"_Really?" I asked, astonished. "How old are you? You look just a little younger than myself."_

"_You're right, Miss Fade, I'm just fifteen and a half, but I've been with men before. I'm too fat and homely-looking to be a bride myself, so I just wait on the brides and please the adulterous husbands." She looked down to the tray she was carrying, meeting the gaze of the fish on the plate._

"_Don't say that! There are plenty of men in this tribe! At least one of them should want to marry you. Is there anyone that you like in particular?" I asked, smoothing the poor girl's hair and taking the tray from her._

"_I like…" She blushed again, shaking her head. "I shouldn't say it!"_

"_Come now, tell me. You know about my crush, so tell me about yours. We'll never be friends if we can't tell each other our secrets." I smiled warmly and ushered her over to sit on my bed._

"'_Friends'?" Pumpkin asked, her eyes filling with tears of joy. "I've never had a friend before, and surely not one as pretty as you."_

_I blushed lightly, waving away her compliment. "No, no. I'm not pretty at all. Not by a long shot. Sure, I've got my good points, but I'm as thin as a twig, and I've hardly any upper-body strength at all. I'd be a useless wife."_

"_But still…Yohken said that you were 'pretty enough'." Pumpkin pointed out._

_I shrugged. "I won't believe it until I hear it from Hao's lips."_

"_I guess it can't hurt to tell you then, if you really have no feelings for your fiancé. Promise you won't get angry?" She looked up hopefully at me._

"_I promise." I swore with a smile._

"_I like Yohken." She looked back down again, twiddling her fingers. "He's always very nice to me, and he's very handsome."_

"_Really?" I giggled. "I think he looks like a bit of a stick in the mud, the way that his face is all somber and serious."_

"_I think it makes him look older and mature, like a real clan leader. He's the heir to the Asakuras, you know." Pumpkin quietly defended her man._

"_If only I could just give him to you." I sighed. "I'd rather marry someone I love than someone with power any day. He doesn't seem too attached to me, maybe I can talk to him about it."_

"_No!" My companion shrieked. "You mustn't! I'll get in trouble, and I'm sure they'll punish you as well! They've already paid your bride price, so, like it or not, you're stuck with Yohken."_

"_Oh well." I sighed again. "It was a thought."_

"_Though, he must like you, Hao that is, if he brought you food." Pumpkin speculated. "You've peaked his interest, so go pull him in. It's not wrong to have a little fun while you're young."_

_I shook my head sadly. "It wouldn't reflect well on my tribe if I messed around with Hao when I'm engaged to Yohken. Even though I'm Patch by birth, I was raised by the Toho, and it's them that I'm representing here. I better behave until I'm safely married and they can't return me." I stifled a laugh._

"_Well, good luck, Miss Fade. I have to go; I've got a few more brides to wait on, but feel free to call if you need anything." Pumpkin took the tray she had brought and stopped to turn around at the door. "And I'm so glad to have met you."_

"_You too, Pumpkin." I smiled as my first new friend left me to eat by myself. "She seems nice, doesn't she, Faux? Maybe I'll like it here after all. That Hao's cute, don't you think?"_

'_**If**__ you say so, __**Fade.'**__ My spirit replied. __**'He**__ seemed a little strange to __**me.'**_

"_Well, I think he's cute." I finished my meal, and poked my head outside to look at the stars. "Beautiful, aren't they?" I smiled. "Shall we go take a closer look?"_

_My spirit sighed, shaking his head and turning into a lizard to accompany me on my shoulder as I walked out past the bonfire to sit on the edge of a cliff overlooking a ravine._

"_The stars are gorgeous, aren't they?" An amused voice chuckled from behind me._

_I turned to see none other than Hao. I smiled at my good fortune. "Oh, good evening. I'm sorry, I didn't know that this was your stargazing spot. Do you want me to leave?"_

"_No." He shook his head and sat down beside me. "We can watch the stars together as long as that fiancé of yours doesn't find us."_

"_Does Yohken like watching the stars?" I wondered._

"_Not so much." Hao shrugged. "He's too busy to waste time enjoying nature. He's lost touch with what it means to be a shaman, and he's been consumed by his goal."_

"_That's a shame." I hummed softly. "I had hoped that this could be something romantic that I could do with my husband, but I guess that _we_ could always watch the stars together. What do you think, want to be friends?"_

_He eyed me carefully. "You want to be my _friend_? I heard what you were thinking before in your tent; I know you like me. By 'friend' do you mean 'lover'?" There was a hopeful look in his eye._

"_Absolutely not." I laughed. "Pumpkin told me about you, you dog; you're married, and you've already got enough lovers. I want to be special to you, so I've decided to be the only girl in this village that you haven't slept with." I smirked with pride as he pouted._

"_Oh. So that little porker snitched on me, did she." He growled._

_I slapped him to the ground. "Don't you dare talk about her like that! I definitely don't want to be in a relationship with you if that's the way that you talk about girls that you've bedded."_

_Hao smiled up at me apologetically. "No, no. I assure you, I'm a pure gentleman and the soul of discretion."_

"_I doubt it." I huffed softly, turning to leave._

"_Wait!" He caught my arm and pulled me to the ground. "I'll show you." He climbed on top of me and forced his lips to my own._

_Faux screeched in righteous fury, turning into a snake and taking a bite out of Hao._

"_OW!" My unwelcome paramour squealed. "What the hell, Faux? It's not like I was going to force myself on her!"_

"_You know Faux?" I looked up in awe into his starry eyes._

"_Yeah, he was my brother Yukio's spirit about five hundred years ago." He smirked, shaking off the little garden snake._

"_How old are you?" I breathed._

"_Nineteen. You?" His nose came to rest up against the side of mine._

"_Seventeen." My arms circled around his neck, and our lips melted together. As we broke apart for air, I breathily whispered, "Hey, do you want to come back to my tent and—"_

"—_Absolutely." He retook my lips, and his hand found its way up my shirt._

_I kneed him in the stomach and rolled him off of me. "You didn't let me finish." I scowled. "I was going to invite you over to play chess, but now I'm not so sure." I got up and started walking back toward the campsite._

"_Chess?" He groaned._

"_Yes. Chess."_

"_That wouldn't happen to be code for anything, would it?" Hao sighed, frustrated with me._

"_No." I shook my head at him and smiled. "I already told you, we're not going to have that kind of relationship. Just chess."_

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Mikau: Well, thanks for reading; hope you all enjoyed it. A big thanks also to Hoshi-Hime for the review! I'm so glad you're enjoying my OC's; I'm very fond of them, so I'm glad that they're being accepted. I'll try hard to make it to the end before I have to go back to college. It's hard enough writing while in school, and fall term I'm studying abroad, so I'll be even more distracted. I'll give it my all, so please support me by letting me know what you think. Thanks again all!


	9. The AgeOld Grudge

Mikau: Hello all! I'm so excited! I just got done reading the second-to-last (I'm pretty sure) chapter of the SK manga, and I'm so pleased with the way it's ending. If you haven't read the manga already, I highly recommend it; it's just so much better than the anime ending.

_**Disclaimer:**_ I own nothing. I just wish I owned a pair of those awesome star earrings.

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The Age-Old Grudge

I couldn't sleep. That darn Façade was on my mind yet again. She bothered me day and night with her incessant bothersome-ness. Her eyes bugged me, her hair bugged me, her spirit bugged me, her illness bugged me. Everything! Every little thing about her bothered me!

I got out of bed late that night and made my way to the bonfire going in the middle of the campsite. _She_ was already there, sitting on a stone by the fire, staring into the flames.

"The stars are gorgeous, aren't they?" I made idle chitchat, sitting on the ground next to her.

She looked up at the sky, a blank look on her face. "I hadn't noticed." She lied. She got up and moved further away from me.

I followed her, sitting next to her again. "Don't be so cold; it's a nice, warm night."

"I treat everyone this way." She switched seats again, and I made a move to follow her. "Stop it before I rip your face off with my teeth."

"Right." I gulped and decided to maintain the distance she had set. "So, you said you didn't go to school, did you not have many friends when you were a child?"

"I had two." She volunteered scant details.

"Faux and who else?" I questioned. "That Raph guy?"

Her eyes shot daggers through mine, but her voice fumbled. "H-how did you know about Raphael?"

"You talk in your sleep." I shrugged and gazed up at the night's sky. "I visited you a couple times a day when you were out, and you were always talking about Raph this or Raph that. Did he move away? Is that why he left you?"

"I don't want to talk about it. No one else could see Raphael. He was sent to watch over me for a little while to make sure I made the right choices. When his job was done, he had to go. She thought I was crazy because it looked like I was always talking to myself." Façade shuddered at the painful memories, wrapping her arms around herself.

"That would be your mom." I guessed.

"Stop picking my brain!" She yelled, and a gust of wind threw sand in my face.

"Sorry, sorry. Geez." I spit out the sand and glared at her. My glare faded a little as I realized that she was crying. "Hey…um…I've come to make a peace offering."

"What do you mean?" The black sheep of the X-LAWS spit at me.

"You can have your spirit back if you tell me why you hate me so much." I tried to bargain with her, sick of her perpetual foul mood.

She looked up at me, her sapphire eyes full of hope beyond hope. "R-really? You actually mean it?"

"Yeah, why not?" I gave her my prize-winning smirk. "I want you to help me, and I can see that that's not going to happen of your own free will as long as you despise me so, it's to my advantage if you're happy, or at least content, here. So? Why do you hate me so much if we've never met? Did I hurt someone close to you?"

She looked back into the flames and furrowed her brow. "I don't remember." She shook her head and sighed. "My memory is a little blotchy, so I don't remember the exact reason. It has something to do with my mission…."

"What mission?" I entreated.

She shook her head again. "I don't remember. I've got an important message to deliver to someone. That's why I left home in the first place to travel with the X-LAWS. I had to find you in order to deliver my message to someone.

"Maybe I don't have a personal grudge against you after all. Maybe I grew to hate you because of the X-LAWS's constant sermons, or maybe it's from hearing the stories of those that you've hurt. It could also be from what Faux told me about you; I don't know. Even though we've never met in person, something in my soul says that you violated me and betrayed me by breaking a very important promise. I think you did something to me in a past life, and my hate is only surfacing now…. That's what the voices say, anyway."

"Voices?" I asked, cautiously skating around the thin ice.

"Yes, the voices. The ones that tell me the past the present and the future. They're the ones who have witnessed what you've done, and they're the ones that I believe. I believe that it is my mission to defeat you, ridding the world of your evil and avenging my former selves. Then, I believe I will be able to deliver my message to whomever it's destined." Her eyes were blank as she spoke, as if possessed by some old, prehistoric soul—some ancient being, alive before the creation of the world.

"How old are you?" I asked, breaking the void of the silence.

"Seventeen." She answered. "Give or take a few thousand years. This is your third life?"

I nodded.

"My third life was long extinguished hundreds of years before your first life was even conceived." She sighed, staring at the fire, lost in thoughts of long ago.

"You remind me of my brother Yukio, from my first life." I replied softly. "He got that far off, ancient look in his eyes sometimes when he spoke of serious matters with me."

"I had almost forgotten." Façade smiled gently, a sideways grin illuminating her face. "We used to watch the stars like this, didn't we? And I would talk to you about things that no one had any way of knowing. That was back when things were simpler." She got up and started walking back to her tent.

"Yukio?!" I called after her.

She turned and smiled. "Go to bed, Hao, or you'll never grow up big and strong."

I stared after her for a long time. Her smile, her mannerisms, her everything. It all was reminiscent of my elder brother, but somehow I just couldn't make myself believe it was him. And yet, sitting there talking with her and watching the stars was so like those summer nights I had spent talking with Yukio.

"_Yukio-oniisama, are you ever going to tell me why you spared me?" I had been there for a week, and he had yet to talk me into calling him by his given name._

"_What was that?" My 'elder brother' pretended not to hear me as we gazed up at the stars. "Did you say something, Hao?"_

"_Yukio-oniisan!" I whined. _

_He didn't respond._

"_I know you can hear me." I pulled at the hem of his robe, but he still paid me no mind. "You know Tanaka-san will throw a fit if he catches me talking so familiarly with you. He's mad enough that you adopted me, and he already treats me harshly during my lessons and, well, whenever he sees me. I don't want him to get even more upset with me."_

"_I'll have to talk to him about that." Yukio sighed. "You needn't fear him like that. _You_ shouldn't have to be scared of anyone."_

"_Why's that?" I looked up into his emerald eyes as they glinted in the starlight. "I'm just a street urchin brat. I'm no match physically or politically for anyone here at court."_

"_That's where you're wrong." The young lord sat down next to me and pinched my cheek. "You're beyond all of them. You're no defenseless street brat anymore; you're _my_ little brother. So act like it, Hao. If they give you trouble, just glare at them and say 'How dare you speak like that to _me_!' Don't be afraid to throw your weight around a little bit. You can't let them walk all over you like that. You're _beyond_ them."_

"_Yes, you've said that already, but what I don't understand is _why_. _Why_ am I so much better than them all of the sudden? What makes me so special that you took me in as your brother, apprentice, and heir? What makes me so different from all the other orphans left out on the streets?"_

"_You're a _shaman_." Yukio repeated himself for the nth time._

"_But what does that _mean_?" I pleaded._

"_You see spirits," He explained, "and you can interact with them, Hao. You remember those three little tests I put you to when you came before me?"_

"_Yes." I remembered well the seemingly unrelated tasks that I had had to accomplish._

"_Hao, one of the birds that I asked you to count was Faux, my morphing sprite. Normal humans could only see two birds sitting on that branch._

"_The second task, giving that sutra to the old beggar man and reciting the chant, that man had died long ago, and giving him the sutra and chanting to him helped him pass on to the next world. Hao, you sort of preformed an exorcism._

"_You're special, Hao, because not everyone can see spirits or exorcise them. You're no regular human, my brother." He kissed my forehead and mussed my hair fondly with a chuckle._

"_Is that why you took me in?" I gaped up at him, befuddled with this latest piece of news._

"_That's part of it." Yukio admitted. "I saw that you could be of use to me."_

"_What was the other part of it?" I queried._

_A sly grin darkened his usually sunny countenance. "I was indebted to you. You had done me a great service by ridding me of my _esteemed_ uncle Densen."_

"_What do you mean?" His dark look made me uneasy. There was something sinister and scheming about it._

"_He murdered my father, the former governor, because he coveted my mother. When she resisted him, he violated her. Shamed, she committed suicide." He shook the somber look from his lovely features and smiled reassuringly back at me. "But, you needn't concern yourself with such things. You're too young to fully understand."_

"_I understand well enough." I stuck up for myself, not wanting to look naïve in front of Yukio, even though I didn't _truly_ get what he had said. "And I'm sorry for what happened to you and your family. He killed my mother too." Despite myself, tears started to come to my eyes. She had been my world at such a young age, and she was suddenly ripped away from me._

"_Shh…" My older brother took me in his arms and sat me on his lap. "There, there. Be strong, don't cry. We've got each other now, and that's what's important. I'm here for you, and you for me. I really want you to think of me as your real big brother, that's why I'm so insistent on you calling me by my first name."_

_We sat in silence for a while. He stared up at his stars, and I sat in his lap, shedding tears into the sleeve of his robe. After some time, he reached down to pick a blade of grass. "Watch this." He smirked as he took the blade between his fingers. "Someday I'll teach you how too." The foliage instantly burst into flames, but didn't seem to burn him._

"_How did you turn the grass into fire?" I stared wide-eyed at his trick, reaching out to touch it and burning my fingers. "Ow!"_

"_Careful." Yukio laughed at my folly and turned the fire into water to run over my singed digits. "It was fire from the very start; it just didn't know it yet."_

"_But I saw it was grass!" I argued._

"_It's still grass."_

_I gasped as the water turned back into grass. "How…?"_

"_All things are interconnected." He explained, and I suddenly got the feeling that he was older than I had first thought. "Inside every part is the whole, and the whole is inside every part. Once you realize this, you are no longer confined to the set form that you were born into. Once you realize the way that things really are, you know that the grass was fire from the start, and the fire was really water anyway. Heck, even the cells that make up my hand are fire." He accentuated his point by turning his left hand into a raging fireball._

_I stared, dumfounded by his magic. "And you can teach me to do that too? Are you a Buddha?"_

_He shook his head and laughed. "Only a bodhisattva, and it's really something more that you learn for yourself rather than something you're taught. You can study under me, though, watching and teaching yourself. I see potential in you for becoming a great onmyouji."_

"'_Onmyouji?'" I parroted._

"_A shaman who specializes in harmony with the elements, if you had to give it a barebones definition fit for a six year old." His hand turned back into a hand, and he messed up my hair again, lovingly. "But, that's enough for one night, Hao. Let's go in, and I'll teach you to play chess."_

"_What's 'chess'?" I sighed, wanting to see more magic, but following my brother to his room anyway._

"_It's a little like go or shogi. It's a western board game. I don't know if they've invented it yet, but the version with the queen piece is the best. I thoroughly enjoy it; allow me to teach you."_

_I scrunched my forehead up at his oddity. "Yukio, how do you know about it if it hasn't been invented yet?"_

_He picked me up, swung me around, and kissed me on the cheek for using his first name only. "I've always played chess, even in my first lives. I suppose I know because of my power. I know what others have no way of knowing." He smirked like a fat cat and led me inside to teach me a game I would be playing the rest of my lives._

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Mikau: Well, thanks for reading! Please review!


	10. The Mission Statement

Mikau: Hello! I have this JDRF shirt from volunteering at the walk to raise money for juvenile diabetes (the kind that I have), and, of course, it says WALK on it. My brother noticed the other day that if you look at it in the mirror, the font is funky, so it looks like it says XLAW. Enjoy the chapter! Sorry it's short; next time will be longer, I promise!

_**Disclaimer:**_ I am still in a state of owning nothing.

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The Mission Statement

'What in the world had come over me?' I thought as I lay awake after coming back from my chat with that monster Hao. I had told him about my mission. Raphael had told me to never tell anyone about my mission, but then I had gone and told the enemy anyway.

I sighed heavily, getting the lead off of my chest. "What does it matter anymore? I can't even remember what message I was supposed to deliver, let alone, to whom."

I remember that day perfectly. It was five years ago, the day that Raph had left me. It was also the day that she had put me in the institution. I had been twelve at the time.

Raph had come to me while I was outside the church. He had been guiding me for six years at that point, so I was used to him suddenly appearing and disappearing. He wore his long, black trench coat and mirrored shades, like always. His hair was red, kind of like mine, but more the color of fire than tangerines. His eyes were sometimes sapphire and other times emerald. He was a funny sort of angel, always clowning around, but somehow getting the job done.

"_Raphael! What are you up to today?" I shared a rare smile with my favorite companion._

_He didn't look as exuberant as he usually did. "Hey, Kiddo. I got some bad news for you this time; we won't be seeing each other any more after today."_

"_What?! Why not?!" I shrieked, absolutely terrified of him leaving me on my own._

"_My job's done, sweetheart. I've been looking out for you these past six years, guiding and lighting your way. Now I've got just one last little thing before I have to start work on this new I,SR plan. It's gonna be big, and they need every angel they can spare."_

"_But aren't I important too?" I tried to rub the stinging tears out of my eyes._

"_Of course you are." He knelt down to wipe away the tears and give me one of his illuminating smiles. "You're like a little sister to me. I'll worry about you all the time, but we just can't see each other anymore. It'll be okay; we'll make it."_

"_I don't think so." I admitted bitterly. "She's planning on sending me away. She's thinks I'm crazy because of me talking to ghosts she can't see and knowing things I've got no way of knowing. Nobody believes me about you, you know. I even told the nuns, and they think I'm daft too. Please don't leave me, Raph, you're all I've got!"_

"_You've got Faux. He's been at your side since the very beginning, during your very first lives. He'll never let you down or leave you. Even if they take you away and lock you up, he'll always stay by your side, even when I can't." The dark angel wrapped me in his arms and whispered in my ear. "Stay strong. You'll make it somehow."_

"_I can't!" I sobbed. "I can't!"_

"_You _can_!" He held me tighter. "And you know what, you've only got a few more years left to go. You've made it so far, and you've held on for so long. You don't even remember the hardships you went through thousands of years ago. Some were worse, and some were better than now, but this is your last go-round. After thousands of years, you've only got five more left, and then you'll be done. You'll become an angel, like me! All you have to do is perform one more task. Can you do it?"_

"_What do I have to do?" I whimpered, but was in awe of the prospect of becoming an angel._

"_I need you to deliver this message to…."_

There my memory fails me. He says a name and gives me the message, but I can't remember what the hell he says for the life of me. At the time it didn't sound like anything terribly important, and I didn't yet know the person to whom I was supposed to recite Raphael's words.

I had remembered the message up until when I had joined the X-LAWS, but by that time I had already forgotten the recipient's name.

I fell asleep sometime during my tormented thoughts about my mission, and the result was a crossover having to do with Raphael delivering my mission and the people in my normal nightmares. First, I was the handsome young man with the slanted grin.

_I was sitting out on the veranda one night, watching the clouds aimlessly drift across the sky. Usually, my beloved younger brother joined me, but it was the dead of night, and he had fallen asleep hours ago._

_My ears picked up the sound of bushes rustling and twigs snapping to my right. I turned to face a redhead in black robes._

"_Do you know me?" He asked._

_I shook my head slowly. "No, not yet. This is our first meeting, but I know that we shall know each other quite well before my soul is extinguished. What news do you bring me, herald?"_

_He smiled sadly. "Have you received word about…" He trailed off in case I didn't yet know._

"_Yes." I bit my lip, not sure how I felt about leaving Hao so soon. "I'm not long for this world, am I? They'll move against me any day now."_

"_Yes." He echoed. "I have a task for you, Yukio."_

"_Name it." I shrugged, knowing myself to be but a pawn in the Creator's chess match._

"_I need you to deliver a message to him before you die for the last time." He was silent for a minute. "Can you remember that long?"_

_I raised a shoulder nonchalantly. "A thousand years isn't very long at all when you've lived as long as I. I am getting old though, so if I forget, be sure to remind me."_

"_I wish you a swift and painless death. Thank you." The flame-haired angel bowed and disappeared as suddenly as he had come._

_I looked back to the room where my brother lay asleep. He was only twelve, and I truly worried about the path his life would take without me. "Remember how to smile, Hao. Remember how to laugh."_

Next, I was taken to the desert, and I was that Patch girl, sitting in her tent, finger her gorgeous chess pieces. She held some like they would disappear if she let go.

_I had just gotten the vision, and I was at the end of my rope. My time was running short, and I knew how it was going to end. We would fight, he would force me to share his bed, and he would kill me. Murder me in hot, passionate blood. My skin tingled at the feel of the knife and his teeth on my bare skin._

"_Oh, Hao." I whimpered softly, squeezing the white pawn in my hand, gripping it for dear life._

"_How is Hao these days?" A black-clad, snake-eyed angel popped into my room unexpectedly, startling me._

_I answered nevertheless. "Oh, on the warpath now that Yohken, my fiancé, has forbid us from seeing each other. He comes anyway, though. Every night." _

"_I'm sorry." He added. "It was rude of me to just show up. I should have asked if you knew me before jumping into such a personal conversation."_

_I shook my head, waving away his apology. "No, I don't know you well, but I will some day. We've just met that one time before. I suppose you have something new to inform me of?"_

_He nodded solemnly. "Do you remember what I told you last time? Have you remembered Yukio?"_

_I nodded back. "Yes, I remember now. I remember the message you gave my former self to deliver."_

"_Can I ask you as Fade to deliver a message to him for me before the end of your final life?"_

"_What do you want _me_ to tell him?"_

_He whispered his message in my ear. I nodded, confirming that I had understood, and he disappeared without a sound._

_I lay my head down on my chess table once he was gone. "Oh, Hao, Hao. What are we going to do? Once I'm gone, don't forget that you have a heart. Remember how to love."_

I woke from the montage of scenes in a sweat, the sheets drenched, and my fever spiking again. My body was tired from these nightly exertions, showing me things that had happened long ago. It used my powers, and at the rate I was going, I was bleeding myself dry of strength.

I got up to look for a thermometer or something, but was so dizzy, I tripped. I knocked over some of Luca's beakers in the process, cutting myself on the broken pieces of glass. I must have cried out or something because I heard the screams. I tripped again and hit my head against the counter.

Before I blacked out, the voices came and told me: _"The end is near. You've only a few more days left."_

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Mikau: Well folks, I think we're about halfway through. Though, I'm hesitant to say that because in the past when I say I'm only going to have so many chapters, I usually end up with double that about. Well, see you next time; please review!


	11. The Reaper Cometh

Mikau: I'm sorry, I'm such a bad authoress lately. I really should have updated sooner, but I feel that I've failed you. I'll try to get the next chapter out soon, but we'll see. I've been reading The Tale of Genji, and it's really long (1120 pages) with lots of footnotes and small print (I highly recommend it, though). I've only got a week to finish the last four hundred something pages before it's due back at the library, so my attentions have primarily lain with Genji and not my own fic. I'll try to do better next time.

_**Disclaimer:**_ I perpetually own nothing.

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The Reaper Cometh

I was still sitting outside, watching as the stars died with the coming light of early dawn, when I heard the crash come from my captive's tent. There were sounds of glass breaking, screams, and, then, silence. It was the silence that worried me. Screaming and crying after loud crashes were good signs; they meant the injured was still conscious and breathing. Silence meant something was wrong.

I rushed to the little tent and flung open the flaps. There on the floor was our little X-LAW in captivity, and it didn't look like she was doing so hot.

"LUCA!" I called for our trusty medicine man, and, like the mail, he came, even though it was only a few hours before daybreak.

"Master Hao, I hope you don't think me disrespectful, but do you have any idea what time it is?" He was tired, so his words were a little on the terse side.

I ignored his subversive tone and pulled him into the tent. "What do we do? Is she even alive?" I was beginning to freak out again.

Luca got down on his knees and inspected the unconscious, redheaded firecracker. "Relax, Hao-sama. The girl lives. You seem uncharacteristically worried about this one. You came and visited her all the time when she was unconscious before too. Could it be that you've developed a crush on her?"

I blushed profusely and turned quickly away so that he wouldn't see. He knew anyway. "I-I have not. She's just a part of my plan, is all. I would hate to have wasted the time and energy on her if she's just going to die on me. That's all it is."

"Of course that's all it is, Master Hao. Of course." Luca shook his head with a doting smile as he lifted Façade's body back into bed. "She has a fever again. She seems very prone to them. She's a little dehydrated, and she's cut herself. We'll have to clean the wound before it gets infected. I don't think she has a very strong immune system, so it'd be best if she didn't have to fight off infections; I don't believe she'd fair very well at all."

His brow furrowed upon further inspection. "What I don't understand is that she seems to have used a great deal of furiyoku, but she hasn't had her spirit or anything to use lately, so that shouldn't be the case."

"Maybe she's been looking into the future a lot. That could possibly drain her, couldn't it?" I came to stand behind him and look over his shoulder as he worked. I flinched as he put an IV in her arm.

"Squeamish, Hao?" My father figure laughed good-naturedly at me.

"No." I pouted. "A little."

"Hand me the thermometer from my bag along with the disinfectant and the bandages." The doctor instructed.

I fished out what he needed, glad I could be useful instead of standing there feeling helpless. "What's her temperature?"

"103 degrees Fahrenheit." His eyebrows knitted together and he made a soft 'hmm' sound. "Go get a wet cloth and some ice while I clean her cuts."

"I'm on it." I quickly did as he asked, wetting the scrap of towel and placing it across her forehead. "What do I do with the ice?"

"Wet her face with it, her lips, her neck. See if you can dribble a little of it into her mouth. Make sure you don't choke her, though." Luca directed me as he dressed the wounds on her hands and arms. "We should probably change her sheets and clothes too." He added as an afterthought. "It's not good for her to sleep on wet sheets."

"W-wait." I struggled with forming the words. "Her _clothes_?!"

He shook his head and laughed straight out at me. "Like you've never seen a woman disrobed before. You're cute, Hao, just cute. Though, she would probably have a cow if she ever found out."

"I'm going to wake up the Hanagumi. They'll have girl clothes." I blushed and slunk off to my lovely harem's tents. Mari and Macchi shared one tent, but Kanna, their self-proclaimed, undisputed leader, had a tent to herself.

"WHAT THE FREAKING HELL DO YOU WANT?!" Kanna roared as she removed her sleep mask and rolled off of her cot.

Mari and Macchi were far more welcoming when they discovered me in their tent. I almost didn't get out of there with all of my clothes intact.

The younger two were more inclined to play dress up the X-LAW, but it took some coffee and a cigarette to get Kanna moving. "You owe me, Mister." She seethed. "You owe me."

"Master Hao owes Mari and Macchi too, doesn't he, Macchi?" The Italian girl glanced conspiratorially at her British partner in crime.

"He sure does." The redhead's face lit up with an evil grin.

I sighed, knowing when I had been bested. "Later." I promised. "Once our little psychic is healthy again."

"Is that little slip of a shaman ever healthy?" Kanna inquired, chewing on the end of her cancer-inducing tar in convenient, smokable form.

"Yeah." Macchi echoed. "She was sick when she got here, and it seems like she's been sick all the while since. She was out for a good two days, too."

"She'll get better eventually," I assured, "but she definitely won't improve the longer you three leave her in wet clothes and linen, so get to work, and make it snappy." I shoved the three witchies into Façade's tent and waited for Luca to join me outside.

"Be very careful of the IV and her wounds." Luca warned before ducking out of the tent.

"We know, we know." Kanna complained. "What does he think we are, stupid?"

"No, just sleep-deprived." Mari sighed softly, as quiet as a ghost.

"How is she?" I asked without looking up at the former X-LAWS founder standing beside me.

"She'll be okay, Hao. Don't worry so much about her." He patted me on the head and choked back a laugh. "You'll make yourself sick, besides, there's nothing anyone can do for her."

"What do you mean?" My eyes snapped to his face, skimming it for any hint or clue. "I thought you said she'd be okay!"

He shook his head again, sadly this time. "For now, she'll be okay. Though, the life is slowly draining from her, and she will die soon. She doesn't have much longer. To be truthful, I don't know if she's even up to your task."

"There's nothing we can do?" I pleaded for answers. "You're absolutely, positively, one hundred percent certain that there is nothing, humanly or shamanly, that we can do to save her?"

"Hao, she's got a disease that no one gets anymore, so there's no cure for it. People stopped dying of it before even your time. It's an old disease, a disease from the legends. What's more, I don't think anyone else will ever get it until she reincarnates again." His tone was so serious, and his words were so solemn. It drained the hope right out of me.

"What is it? How is she sick?" I whispered. Even the wind was silent.

"It stars by damaging the memory slowly, little holes here and there. It affects the lungs, too, and gets into the blood. It takes the heart from there. She's already at an advanced stage. I'd give her a few weeks at most. It'll be a slow and painful death for her."

"And there's _nothing_ we can do?" I tried one last time, praying that there was something he had forgotten.

"No, Hao."

"Why does Hao-sama care so much for this girl?" I looked down to find my smallest follower at my feet, wiping the sleep from his eyes.

"I'm sorry, Opacho, did we wake you?" I bent down and picked him up, straightening his crooked poncho.

"Master Hao and Façade are connected somehow. Opacho can sense it. Façade does not know, but Hao is beginning to suspect it." The precocious child confirmed what I had already guessed.

"Is that right, Hao?" Luca's forehead wrinkled at me.

I nodded. "Yeah, I think so. She's seems so familiar to me, and a lot of memories from my past lives are surfacing recently. It started just a little before she arrived. I'm dreaming of my brother Yukio and my friend Fade a lot. They've both been dead for such a long time…I didn't think I'd ever see them again, but with her, I get glimpses every once in a while."

"All right, your Sleeping Beauty is now fully clothed." The Hanagumi announced as they immerged from the tent, Kanna leading the pack. "If you'll excuse us, we're heading back to bed."

"Night, night, Hao-sama." Mari and Macchi winked as they passed, and it sent shivers down my spine.

"What has happened to Façade?" Opacho questioned curiously as we reentered the tent turned infirmary.

"She had a little accident." Luca explained. "She fell and cut herself on some broken glass from the vials and test tubes she knocked over. She hit her head and has a fever as well."

"Poor Façade can never stay well for long." Opacho sighed.

She stirred as we approached. "Hao." She tried to reach out to me, but her arm was as heavy as a dumbbell.

"Yes?" I answered, a little unsure as to why she was calling out to her sworn enemy in such a tender way. "I'm here. What is it?" I sat in Luca's chair next to her bed.

"Hao!" She called again, taking my hand in her own, trying to pull herself up.

I helped her, and she managed to sit up, pulling my hand to her face.

"Oh, Hao! I'm so glad you're here. It was horrible!" She threw her arms around my neck, and suddenly her lips were upon mine, begging for me to kiss her back softly but passionately.

So kiss her I did, even if I was as confused as a barrel full of monkeys as to why our lips were suddenly melding together. She pulled me to the bed to lie on top of her as her lips moved on mine, causing more bewilderment on my part.

Luca's mouth dropped to the ground, and Opacho's eyes went as wide as pancakes. Luca had sense enough to block the minor's view as I made out with our dying captive.

She pulled away from me and sighed, tears coming to her eyes. "I was so afraid I'd never see you again." She kissed me again softly. "Hao, Yohken was here. He came, and he yelled at me. I think he thought that we had been together. I told him that it wasn't true, but he didn't believe me. Hao, it was the most terrifying thing ever." She buried her face in the nape of my neck and cried. "Hao, please don't be angry, but he forced me to…he forced me to…he forced me to—"

She broke down in sobs, holding me like a life preserver, needing me to keep her from falling apart.

"Fade." I whispered the name in her ear before kissing her on her neck, just below the earlobe.

"Hao." She crooned. "Hao, don't leave me. Never leave me . Don't go."

"I'm always with you in spirit." I assured her. "Always." And we kissed again.

But then something strange happened. She put a hand to her head and whimpered in pain. "Get. OUT. Of. My. HEAD!"

Suddenly the Façade I had come to know was back, and she looked extremely confused. "Why…?" She didn't even finish the question before screaming and throwing me off of her. "Get off! Get away! Don't touch me! Don't look at me!"

"You hit on me first!" I snapped back, knowing full well that she hadn't been the one in control of her body at the time. "You're the one that kissed me!"

Her eyes widened in shear terror, and her hand flew to her lips. "No. I…I didn't. I… Liar! I would never! I would—" She gasped for air as she started coughing again, spiting up blood from her lungs.

"Calm down." I rushed to take her hand in my own. "Breathe, Façade, breathe. Slow, deep breaths. In through your nose, out through your mouth."

She gripped my hand like death's own fist and struggled to do as I said. Her eyes went half lidded, and a familiar, lopsided smile graced her lips. "Don't look at me like that." She laughed. "I'm fine, Hao. I've told you a thousand times that I'm just fine." She brought my hand to her mouth and place a frail kiss upon it, nuzzling it as she talked. "See? I'm fine."

I knew that tone. Yukio had always used it when he got sick. When he pretended to be fine. When he lied to me to protect me from the truth—the fact that he was dying.

Suddenly I got angry. "Shut up, Yukio. You lied to me. You always lied! Whenever I asked why you got sick so much, you told me it was just because your body was weak. You said you would be back to normal in no time. You always said everything would be okay even if you were sick, but you never told me that you were dying!"

"Shh, Hao." Yukio murmured. "You were twelve when I died and younger before that. How was I supposed to explain to a twelve year old that I was dying?"

"I knew of death." I bit back. "My mother was murdered when I was five. You should have told me! I would have understood."

"But could you have born it—the sadness? Maybe now or in your second life, but not then." He shook his head at me and smiled at my eternal tough-guy act. "Then, you were just a child like everyone else. I always warned you that we couldn't be together forever, and I thought about telling you a dozen times. But you would have been sad, Hao."

My older brother looked up at me cheerlessly through Façade's blue orbs. "I didn't want to weigh you down with my baggage. My illness was _my_ burden to bear, and I didn't even die from it in the end. I was murdered, remember, so why does it even matter if you knew I was sick?"

"It mattered." I choked. "You always had to pretend for my sake. I was a burden to you. You couldn't be honest and just be yourself. You had to put up this front for me constantly."

He laughed at me. It was a soft, weak laugh, but it was a laugh nonetheless. "You were never a burden, Hao. What I did, I did out of selfishness. Do you know how happy I was when you looked up at me and smiled? That beautiful smile of yours brought me much joy, even on my darkest days. I didn't want you to be sad about me for my own sake, as well as yours. I wanted to see you smile up until the very end. I wanted to protect that smile of yours because I love you more than you could ever love yourself."

"Yukio." I held back the saltwater from escaping my eyes as he gently stroked my face.

"Hush." He smiled, eyes full of stars. "I have to go now."

"No!" I held his hand tight, terrified at losing him again. "You can't! You can't leave me again, Yukio, you just can't!"

"Shh, otouto." The green-eyed fox squeezed my hand reassuringly, a sad look glittering in his eyes. "This isn't my body anymore, and its owner wants it back. I couldn't stay even if I wanted to. My time has expired, and I can't be your big brother, with you every second, anymore."

"Why not? Why couldn't you come back like I did—as you were with your same consciousness? Why did you have to come back as Fade and now Façade?" I bit my lip in an attempt to dam up the tears. It was too painful to talk with him like this again, knowing that he would leave me on my own, perhaps for forever this time.

"It's your turn to be a big brother, Hao." I could see him fading. Façade was coming back, struggling to regain her body. "Fate has given you Opacho and Yoh. It's your responsibility to love them and care for them as I did for you. You've been given a great gift—the chance to live your life for someone else. Don't waste it."

And he was gone. I finally let a few drops fall from my dark eyes.

"Let go." Façade tried to tug her hand from mine, but she was out of strength, unable to even put up much of a fight.

I released her and got to my feet, storming out of her tent. I didn't look at anyone or say a word as I left.

Luca went to Façade's side and gave her a quick checkup. "You seem to be a little better."

Façade sighed. "Yes, just very tired. My head hurts."

"Façade hit her head and has gone through a terrible ordeal." Opacho informed the rogue X-LAW.

"Hmm." The girl grunted in response. "Luca, we need to talk when I wake up."

"Of course." The physician on duty replied, unsure if she had heard him or not before she passed out.

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Mikau: So, what did you think? Let me know by dropping a review on the way out. Pretty please? Thanks for reading this far!


	12. Swine And Zebra

Mikau: Hello everyone! No, I have no dropped off the face of the earth; I've just been busy throwing items necessary to my survival into three suitcases in preparation for my upcoming study abroad trip. It's horrible because I've filled one entire suitcase with my insulin supply for a few months along with my medicine and other diabetic stuff. I've got one suitcase for shampoo, normal people medicines, towels, and stuff, and one last one for clothes. I don't know how everything's going to fit. Also, you can blame Soul Eater for my late update. The anime ended so suddenly and so open-endedly that I had to read the manga too to get some closure. Anyway, I had a blast writing this chapter, so please enjoy!

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Swine and Zebra

_It had been several days since the night I had talked to Hao on the cliff. I had seen him in the background a few times as I got the tour of the village. Sometimes at meals I would catch glimpses of him, but whenever I went to talk with him, he was gone, as if into the very air. It was five days later that I finally saw him again. _

_I had come back from helping the other women sow seeds in the fields; I was sweaty and sticky, so I headed to the stream for a quick bath. It was when I returned to my room to change and had my top off that an unwelcome voice called to me from behind._

"_You know, you look good with your hair down out of that braid."_

_I gasped and turned around, covering myself with my fresh shirt. "Hao! What by the Great Spirits are you doing here?!"_

_He simply chortled at me. "Watching you change, apparently."_

"_You pig! Don't look!" I threw a pillow at his head to block his view while I quickly pulled on my clean shirt._

"_Now, now." The devilish seductor put on a charming smile for my benefit, making my stomach do handstands. "Let's not be so mean. Besides, name-calling is for children. How old are you again?"_

"_Seventeen." I spit the word back at him, not liking him talking down to me one bit._

"_See, you're a woman already." His smirk turned from mischievous to positively satanic as he scooped me up and deposited me on the bed with himself on top. "Or, if you're not, I could make you one."_

"_Oh please." I rolled my eyes at him. "You wish."_

"_I do wish it. Don't you?" His lips found their way to the tender part of my throat, and he bit me softly._

_I sharply inhaled at the pain and whimpered his name._

_Pumpkin chose just that moment to walk in with my afternoon snack. She shrieked when she saw us, almost dropping the tray. "I'm sorry!" She squealed, turning on her heel toward the doorway. "I didn't see anything! Please, please forgive me!"_

"_Nothing's going on." I tried to push Hao off, but he wasn't budging. He was a lot stronger than he looked. "Hey, you." I loosed a glare on my tormentor. "Hog, get off of me before I tear your face off with my teeth."_

"_Can't you think of a more endearing pet name for your dearest lover?" Hao pretended to pout but released me anyway._

"_Shut up." I sighed as I straightened my hair and went to retrieve my snack of apples and peanut butter. "He's trying to force himself on me because I, unlike every other woman that he's tried to seduce, won't give in."_

"_Because you're a stubborn mule." Hao huffed, moving his eyes to Pumpkin. "Hey, you. Come here."_

"_Me?" Pumpkin blushed, handing me the tray and rushing to Hao's side._

"_Yeah, you. Do you see anyone else, other than that little donkey?" The handsome playboy was getting impatient. "Give me a backrub." He ordered._

"_Right away, Master Hao." To my utter shock and horror, Pumpkin immediately did as she was commanded._

"_Hold it!" I steamed, pulling her away from my unwanted houseguest. "Don't just do what he tells you. Stand up to him! He's nothing but a bully."_

"_But…" Pumpkin looked between Hao and myself, trying to sort things out. "I don't mind, really, Miss Fade. It is my lot in life to please men and brides-to-be."_

"_See, Fade," Hao grinned triumphantly, rubbing his victory in my face, "She says she doesn't mind playing my little consort."_

_My face turned red with fury. "Well, _I_ mind! If you're going to walk all over someone, try to walk over me. I can at least fight back." I ushered Pumpkin out of the way and sat on the bed behind my nemesis. He looked surprised as I began to rub his bare shoulders._

"_Well, well. Isn't this a lovely turn of events?" The demon boy smirked in pleasure as I ran my fingers up and down his back. "A little lower."_

_I acquiesced without complaint, moving my hands lower. "Is that good?"_

"_Lower still."_

_I begrudgingly moved my hands yet again. "Here?"_

"_Lower." He teased just to annoy me._

_I massaged so low that I was almost touching his tush. "What about now?"_

"_Just a smidge more." He goaded me, seeing how much I would take._

_I smacked him hard. "Swine." I stuck my nose in the air and waltzed over to the chess table where Pumpkin sat, munching on my apple._

"_Ow. Man, you're feisty." The devil just smiled, rubbing his cheek, eyeing me. "Wanna kick Pumpkin out and have some real fun?"_

"_Buzz off." I waved him away._

"_What about you, Pumpkin? Want to come back to my room with me? I'm in the mood, and this little _burro_ won't lie down for me." I was appalled as Hao turned his unquenchable lust onto my friend._

"_If you so wish, my master." Pumpkin's face vaguely resembled a juicy tomato as she offered her hand for Hao to take._

"_Wait a minute!" I threw another fit. "Don't just keep giving in to him like that, Pumpkin! Don't let him use you like that!"_

"_It's okay, Miss Fade." Pumpkin smiled shyly as she gazed dreamily at her shoes. "I want to go with Master Hao."_

"_I'll come back for you later, my little horse." Hao winked and promised me._

_I stared at them in utter distress as he escorted her from my tent. Only when they were out of sight did I break out of my trance. I was angry. I was beyond angry. I had never been so absolutely infuriated in my entire life. The worst part was that I didn't even know why._

_My best friend had just run off with that horrible man, but if she was happy, I was happy for her. She seemed to have a thing for him, so if this was what she really wanted, no matter how wrong I thought it was, it didn't bother me _so_ terribly much._

_I think maybe I was more enraged at the fact that Hao had hit on her in my presence. He had come in to seduce me and had walked out with another woman. And I was seriously ticked off._

_I sat down at my chess table and began munching my snack viciously while I played out a match on my own. An hour later, I felt a little better after having worked off all that steam._

_Then he came back. "Hey, Fade. Whatcha doin'?"_

_I swear, I think my hair burst into flame. "Get the hell out."_

"_What's the matter with you?" He turned his nose up at me and ran his fingers through his wet hair. At least he had had the decency to take a bath before coming to see me._

"_I'm very upset right now, so get out before I throw you out in little, itty, bitty, unperceivable Hao bits!" I rose from my seat like a leviathan from the depths, a look of perfect, wild fury on my face._

"_You're mad at me." His smile faded as realization struck._

"_YOU THINK?!" I shouted, throwing my pillow at him for the second time that day._

"_Why?" He asked as if he honestly didn't know what he had done wrong._

"_Don't play innocent with me and expect it to work, Mister Playboy." I fumed, retaking my seat with my back to him._

"_You're mad about Pumpkin and me." He whispered, standing behind me._

"_I'm not." I pouted defiantly._

"_Only children pout like that." He teased, and I almost knocked his block off for it, taking a wild swing behind me._

"_Then I'm a child, gosh darn it, and I don't want you to make me a woman after all!" I took another shot at the thorn in my foot, but again got nothing but air._

"'_After all'?" He took every opportunity to tease me. "You were considering letting me at you before?"_

"_Haven't you done enough harm for one night? Just go home." I threw myself onto my bed and buried my face in a pillow, trying to cover the tears._

"_Oh. You're really upset, aren't you?" All hint of playful torment was gone from his face, eyes, and voice. "Hey, Fade, talk to me; what's the matter?"_

_I shook my head, unable to speak. My floor-length hair fell off my shoulders, onto the bed beside me. I hadn't yet re-braided it after my bath earlier. It still wasn't even completely dry._

_He gathered every strand of my sandy tresses and neatly divided them into three sections. He quietly began to braid as he spoke at me. "Hey, racehorse, why are you so mad at me for going off with Pumpkin like that? Thumbs up, yes, thumbs down, no: are you angry because you think I'm just using her?"_

_I tilted my hand up and down, from side to side, signifying 'A little.'_

"_There's more?"_

_Thumbs up for 'yes'._

"_Hmm." He was quiet a moment, braiding in silent, pensive, thought. "So it's more than just me mistreating her. Would you have been just as mad if it were another girl?"_

'_Yes.'_

"_If she were just any other girl? If you knew her or not?" He tried to delve as deep as possible._

'_Yes.' I silently raised my thumb._

"_So what it comes down to is that you're jealous." Hao stifled a chortle._

"_I'm not!" I continued to flood my pillow with steady streams of saltwater tears as I screamed. "I don't even know why I'm so upset! I thought I could be special to you, but, as it turns out, I'm no more important than any of your other consorts!" _

_I sat up and screamed at him to his oh-so exquisite face. "No one can be special to you because we're all the same! You just want us for one purpose, and, before and after that, we don't matter! Our feelings, our thoughts, our looks, even our names don't matter as long as you get what you—"_

_My rant was cut short as I began to cough. Fear and pain flooded my eyes as my lungs began to throb. Every breath stung like icy needles. "Help." I managed to choke out. "Doct—" The endless surge of pain was too much, and I could no longer speak. I was too busy gasping for air, grasping at life._

_Hao grabbed my hand, holding it tight, and laid me out on the bed. "Fade, relax." He pleaded, eyes full of absolute terror to rival my own. "HELP! SOMEBODY, HELP!" He called desperately before turning back to me. "You're going to be fine. I won't leave you, I swear it. Now, calm down." He put a hand to my chest, feeling my erratic heartbeat. "You're fine. You're going to be okay, just breath. Focus on your breathing. Slow it down. Fade? FADE!"_

_I could hear his voice there with me right up until the moment I blacked out. He held my hand the entire time. He held it so desperately, so frantically, that I could scarcely feel it, the circulation was cut off. I didn't mind much because it made me feel safe. It helped to know that there was someone there with me the whole time._

_The best part was that he was still there, clutching my hand just as unyieldingly, the moment I woke up. His face was as pale as skim milk, and his hands were clammy._

_Pumpkin was there too, pacing the entire time, looking dazed, worried, and guilt-ridden._

_The doctor was there, giving me shots and fighting my fever with herbs and a cool cloth on my forehead._

_Yohken sat next to my cot at the head of the bed, lovingly playing with loose strands of my impossibly long locks. "Fade." He whispered my name like a prayer. "I was afraid I was going to lose you."_

"_I'm tougher than that." I smiled weakly. "A little coughing spell isn't enough to kill me."_

"_Everyone out." Yohken ordered. "Give my fiancée and myself some privacy."_

"_Feel better, Miss Fade, and I'm so terribly sorry. Allow me to apologize appropriately later." Pumpkin fumbled over her words and her own feet as she scurried out of my tent._

"_I'll be back to check on her later, but now that she's awake and talking, she should be out of danger." The medic tipped his hat, gathered his supplies, and slipped out the door._

_Hao just smiled lightly at me, even his eyes softening. "Sorry." He squeezed my hand and turned to leave._

"_Stay." I muttered, refusing to let loose his hand from my own. "I'm not done yelling at you yet."_

"_If your fiancé doesn't object, Miss Fade." Hao adopted a formal tone with me and attempted to get his hand back from my possession._

"_I do object." The serious-faced man that was to be my husband growled at my unorthodox, sort-of lover._

"_I don't care if you object." I turned on the brown-haired Japanese. "I want him here. He promised he wouldn't leave me until I was better, and I'm not better yet, so he stays."_

"_Very well." Yohken replied, almost seething at his rival. "But, may I ask what this rogue is to you, my fragile dove?"_

_My mind went blank as I looked at Hao. Just what was he to me anyway?_

"_I'm her rival, her opponent, her friend." Hao supplied. "We play chess together while exchanging discourse on religion, politics, and philosophy, among many other topics of consequence."_

_I blinked. This mysterious playboy could spin the most magnificent lies in a heartbeat._

"_What is this 'chess' that you play?" Yohken raised an eyebrow suspiciously toward my constant tormentor._

"_That game over there on the table. You take turns moving your pieces in set patterns. The object of the game is to trap your opponent's king piece so that it can no longer move without being captured." Hao explained the rules simply but accurately for his rival in love._

_I was struck dumb, wondering how Hao knew all that when I had not yet taught him the game. I knew of it because of my powers, but I wasn't so sure that it had been invented for others to know of it yet._

"_I see." Yohken still had his eye on Hao, all suspicion still not completely diffused. "That seems innocent enough."_

"_You have nothing to fear, Love." I regained my composure and jumped in to waylay his distrust from returning. "I have sworn myself to you, and I am a woman of honor and truth. I am a woman of my word. I have no plans to ever become the lover of this wanton pig." With that, I took Yohken's firm lips with my own in a brief, chaste kiss._

_Hao fidgeted as he watched, anger, resentment, and jealousy billowing up inside of him._

_Yohken shed a rare smile at me as I pulled back. "Yes, I can see your loyalty. I understand now that I was a little unfounded in my first assumptions of you two. If you're feeling better, my pigeon, I shall be off to attend to some business. I'll check in with you in the morning, all right, Sweet?"_

"_Yes, Love." I faked a sugary smile for his benefit as my fiancé vacated my abode. I sighed, absolutely drained, after he was gone._

"_So, you like him?" Hao refused to meet my gaze as he pouted._

"_No." I assured. "I'm just mad at you for running off with my best friend. Think of that as my revenge. I'm still blisteringly furious, by the way."_

_Hao smiled, joining me in bed. "I might be able to fix that, if you're willing, that is."_

"_Get the hell off me, you dirty hog." I weakly nudged him off. "I wasn't lying when I said that I had no plans for becoming your lover."_

_The longhaired brunette sighed and retook his seat beside my bed. "You know, it's funny because he called you a fragile bird. What you really are is a wild mustang. You could trample a man if you so desired."_

_I was quiet for a moment._

"_You've got a fiery spirit within you, Fade. You know that?" He patted me on the head and stood to leave._

"_Don't go!" I whined, afraid of being on my own. "I could have another attack at any minute."_

_This seemed to put a little terror in his eyes. "What the heck is wrong with you in the first place?"_

_I shook my head. "I'm just sick. I've always had a weak set of lungs. I get really worked up and start hacking and wheezing like that. One of these days, I'm not going to wake up again after I black out."_

_I chuckled at my misfortune, but he just looked aghast. "That's not funny, Fade. You could die."_

"_I came to terms with death a long, long time ago." I shook off his concern like a harmless gnat. "I think I've lived many, many lifetimes. I just don't remember them all. I get brilliant flashes of insight sometimes, but for now, I guess I'm just supposed to be Fade, so I don't need all of those memories yet."_

"_That's a way to look at it." He shrugged, still thinking me crazy. "I _do_ care about you, you know."_

"_Beg pardon?" I blinked, not following his train of thought._

"_Before." The dark haired beauty tried to clarify. "You were yelling that I didn't care about my lovers' thoughts or feelings and all that. While it's completely true that I don't care a lick about any of them, I _do_ care about you."_

"_Why?" I squinted up at the man who would continually alter the course of my life. "What makes me any different from Pumpkin or your wife or any of your other girls?"_

_He shrugged simply at me. "Somehow, you really are special." And he smiled that toothpaste commercial smirk of his. "You're a magnificent, lawless zebra in a herd of trained show ponies. There's a fire in you, and I'm irresistibly drawn to it. You're my personal stash of catnip, and I'm not going to share you with anyone else."_

"_Then why do I have to share you?" I dared to ask, somehow managing it through the shock that his words had thrown me into._ 'He really does think I'm special.'

"_Because you don't put out." He kissed my forehead lovingly, perpetually teasing me. "If it makes you feel any better, pick one woman. She'll be it until I get you. One other woman for this sinful body, and you for my mind and soul."_

"_Pumpkin." I named his consort._

_He grimaced. "Why in the name of the Great Spirits did you have to pick that one?"_

"_I trust her implicitly. Besides, she seems to have a thing for you." I smirked to match the one in his repertoire._

"_You win, my striped pony." He sighed and swore to me. "Never shall I take any woman to my tent, besides Pumpkin, until I take you."_

"_Obnoxious boar." I sighed as he kissed me full on the lips._

"_Hey," He whispered breathily. "Did you wanna—"_

"—_I already told you no." I pushed him off, yet again._

"_I was going to ask you to play me at chess. You have a dirty mind, Fade, my sweet." He eyed me lustily, and I blushed._

"_Bring the set over. You know how to play?"_

"_Of course." He replied, bringing the table and board over to my bedside. "My brother taught me long, long ago. It's been years since I've played, but I remember the basics. You're going to cream me, though, in the first few games."_

"_I look forward to it." I smirked. "What color will you be?"_

"_You choose." He insisted._

"_Black." I smiled. _'Like your eyes.' _And we played into the night._

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Mikau: Thank you so much for reading, and a special thanks to Pulchrite for reviewing! Reviews are really helpful to me since they let me know what you like, what you don't like, and generally if I'm doing a good job or not. Reviews motivate me to update faster, so please drop a few lines on the way out. Thank you!


	13. Discovery and Resignation

Mikau: Hello everyone! Thank you for reading so far, and sorry I'm not so regular with my updates. Things have been really hectic for me lately, so I've not always had as much time to write as I would like. Anyway, I'm leaving tomorrow to study abroad, so it might take a while to get the internet up and running so that I can update. I'll try my best, but I'm going to be taking classes and running around like a tourist, so it might be a week or two before you hear from me again. Until then, please enjoy this chapter!

_**Disclaimer:**_ I own nothing, regrettably.

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Discovery and Resignation

Well, that settled it. No wonder she had seemed so familiar. No wonder my soul called out to hers. From what I had seen earlier that night, I was absolutely sure of everything. This Façade girl was the reincarnation of Fade, my dearest friend and love from my second life. She was also the reincarnation of Yukio, my precious older brother from my first life. She was my loved ones come back to me after all these years, and she was dying.

All at once I understood everything, and in that same moment, I was certain of nothing. I had planned to use Façade to further my world domination plot, but now that she was ill and drained of furiyoku, she was useless, and I didn't know what to do with her.

I couldn't use her anymore, but I also couldn't just leave her out in the desert to fend for herself. She was sick and dying. I couldn't abandon Fade or Yukio despite their altered, snippy form. I was stuck with her until her death did us part, and that was the most painful thing to think about. Now that I knew who she was, it would be like losing the two of them all over again. I would finally see their disease do them in.

I stormed out of the guest tent and went back to stargazing to relieve stress. I couldn't stand seeing her lying there like that—face wan and ghostly.

"Master Hao?" Macchi cautiously approached me. "How's Façade doing?"

I shook my head. "She's bloody dying." I seethed. "Take a seat if you want."

The redhead warily sat a few feet away—not like it would do much good if I decided to lash out at her. "Are you okay, Hao-sama? I know she would have made your plans a little easier, but…you seem a smidge more upset than if it were just that."

"She…" I sighed, trailing off. "I'm fine."

Macchi nodded in response to my terse reply, wordlessly waiting for me to make the next move.

"I knew her in my past lives." I volunteered, the silence milking the words from my lips.

"She was important to you?" Macchi inferred.

"Very much so." I mumbled. "She was my brother who took me in and protected me after my mother was murdered. He raised me and taught me to be a shaman. He was killed by the people he trusted because they thought that he was a fox spirit."

"She doesn't seem to remember you. She's so hostile towards you, despite being on her deathbed." The witch observed.

I shrugged, not quite understanding it myself. "She was like that in my second life with her too. She didn't retain her memories then either."

"And what then was she to you in your second life? Your brother again, or something else this time?" The Englishwoman slowly extracted the information she desired.

"No, this time she was female." I answered her questions automatically, without a second thought. "She was to be Yohken's bride, but she died before then. We were friends, and at the end, we were in love."

"'L-love'?" Macchi balked, hearing that word on my lips.

That was enough to break the spell of haziness over me, and I suddenly realized what kinds of things I was telling her of my own will. "Well, that's enough for tonight. Perhaps you should go to bed now, Macchi?"

"B-but, Master Hao, I—" She began to protest.

I stood and took her by the shoulders before the entire sentence could leave her lips. I placed my own over hers, gently shushing her.

"M-m-m-master!" She gasped in astonishment.

I kissed her again and, pulling away, said, "Goodnight, my sweet Macchi, and thank you so much for your help earlier. Run along now."

"Y-yes, Hao-sama." She stuttered in a daze as she scurried back to her room, hands over her lips, as if she couldn't believe what had just happened.

I took a deep breath in through my nose and gently expelled the air out my mouth as I retook my seat. "God help me."

"A strange phrase for you to utter, Hao-sama. I thought that you didn't believe in 'God'." Luca smiled weakly, exhausted, as he sat down on the rock beside me.

"It's just a saying; don't read into it." I growled softly, turning my gaze heavenward. "I'm stressed out right now, and it's all just a bit overwhelming. Sometimes I really wish there was a supreme being I could turn things over to when it gets to be a bit too much."

"I think we all do sometimes. Some people even are fortunate enough to have religion to fall back upon. Not for you, though, I suppose. Well, at least she's sleeping soundly, and she should be on her feet by morning. That's good news to take your mind off things." Luca tried to console me and take a little of the weight from my shoulders.

"She's still dying." I pouted.

The great sage shook his head at me, frowning at my distress. "I know, but you should be grateful that you two still have some time left together. You should make the most of this next week. It could be her last."

"That makes me feel so unbelievably better." I rolled my eyes, my voice dripping in sarcasm like snake's fangs.

"It should, Hao. She's not dead yet. There's time." The priestly man tried to persuade me.

I wasn't having any of it. "She doesn't remember me. It's a waste of my time. All I am to her is what I am in this life—her captor. She hardly knows me."

"Well," Luca shrugged, about ready to give up since I wasn't cooperating, "spend time with her anyway. Let her get to know you. She doesn't remember a lot of things, Hao. It's conceivable that being with you could help her regain the memories of her past lives, and you could even make some new memories with her. Don't give up before you even try. That's not like the Hao that I know." He stood, patted me on the shoulder, and walked back to his lodgings.

I watched his back as he strolled off and stared for a long while at the tent door when he was out of sight. I mauled things over in my mind as I sat there. He was right to some degree. It may help if I tried to interact with her, but I wasn't quite sure if I wanted to put forth the effort. She would be dead within the next few weeks. Did I want to expend energy on befriending her if it was only going to hurt when she died and left me behind a third time? On the other hand, it could indeed be my last chance. There were many variables, and my head was beginning to throb.

I got to my feet and headed to Façade's tent. I pulled back the folds and slipped in. Looking down at her, she _was_ awfully pretty with her short, fox fur hair that swung forward so that it was a bit longer in front.

They had always had orange hair. It was a different shade in every incarnation, but they were always redheads. It was that fact that had gotten Yukio in trouble. Who had ever heard of a Japanese man with bright orange hair? His father and mother had both had standard black hair, and their fathers and mothers before them were the same.

It was a similar story for Fade, even though she had never known her parents. Both the Patch and Toho tribes had predominately dark hair. She was an oddity with her pale skin and blazing locks, but it didn't mark her for suspicion and fear like it did Yukio.

Façade was lucky. She had been born an Irishwoman, so red hair was almost a given. She wouldn't be looked down on or attacked because of her looks.

From a young age, I had heard what people thought about Yukio and his hair and eccentricity. It had always bothered me, but, so as not to upset my brother, I had never said anything about it. He hated squabbling, and I wasn't about to be an instigator. I shrugged it off for years as the servants and lower officials being stupid and inferior.

It was the night that we had a high-ranking official visit us that I heard his thoughts about Yukio and realized that even people of higher rank were ignorant fools.

_A governor of the lower sixth rank from a province to the south was making his way to the capital. It was a long journey, and so he was lodging at our estate for a few days to rest and recuperate before going before setting off on the road again._

_The rainy season was upon us, and the muggy humidity was killing me. I was ten at the time, and Yukio was just about to breech his twentieth year. The clouds seemed unyielding, and hardly a day passed that we didn't see a torrential storm._

_We spent our days inside playing Go, chess, and shogi. We gossiped with our gentlemen into the night and traded correspondences with court ladies. Their poetic responses to our indirect advances came on perfumed paper that, when in bulk, was almost overwhelming._

_I, myself, being just a bit too young, didn't directly send or receive any letters, but it was fun to peek over the other men's shoulders and offer suggestions as they composed their carefully constructed replies._

_Normally in the rainy season, Yukio would take me a ways off into the woods to fish, his favorite pastime, but, at the moment, my brother was in poor health, so, the majority of the time, we remained inside._

_"Isn't the heat just dreadful?" Souji, a delinquent novice monk whose camaraderie my brother enjoyed, sighed as he stretched, in the middle of reading a letter to the company._

_"Yes, yes." Akira, a page in our service since childhood, another of my brother's companions, snorted. "Absolutely dreadful, now what does she reply? This lady has wit for one born so low; now, what does she reply? Tell us man!"_

_"I've lost my place." Souji shrugged. "Let's hear one of our young lord's instead."_

_"I fear I'm not of the humor at the moment." Yukio sighed, struggling to breathe in the heat._

_"You left off where she was comparing you to the cold moon in winter." I reminded Souji, even if he was only pretending to forget as to avoid the embarrassment at the woman's frigid reply._

_"Thank you, Hao-sama." The young monk faked a smile for me. "She goes on to say that her cheeks redden at the thought of my lavish attentions as of late, but seeing as I was, up until now, as cold as the moon's unseen half in the deep slumber of winter, she has no time to spare for my quickly changing appetite. There's a nice piece of poetry here too, but I'll spare you all."_

_Akira laughed heartily as Souji blushed. "That's what happens when you chase too many ladies at once. One or two are bound to turn cold if you leave them alone for too long."_

_"It must be hard to pursue many women at once." I observed. "Why bother with it if it's so troublesome?"_

_Akira chortled fondly at my innocent question. "My young lord will understand when he is a few years older and understands a few more things about relationships between men and women. When he does, he will surely understand why it is better to have as many women as he can possibly maintain."_

_Souji smirked at Akira's innuendo and patted me on the back. "And I would wager that Lord Hao will have no problem at all finding female companions since he takes after his esteemed older brother so much."_

_"He is quite lovely, isn't he?" Yukio smiled tenderly as he stroked my long, dark hair._

_"Hao-sama may even be a match in beauty to you, Yukio-sama." Akira tried to stifle a laugh, and I could hear his thoughts, wishing that we were women._

_"Yes, perhaps." Yukio looked up at the door. "Our esteemed guest has arrived."_

_The screen door slid open, and a female servant bowed low to us. "Forgive my interruption, my lords, but our guest, the Governor, has just arrived."_

_Yukio rose shakily to his feet. "Show him to his room so he may refresh himself, and then lead him to the room that has been prepared for the entertainment." He turned back to his companions. "Come join us for a round of Go, if you like."_

_"Yes, my lord." The servant bowed again, excusing herself._

_"We'd be honored, Yukio-sama." The two men bowed and hurriedly made their way to the door to move to the prepared room ahead of us._

_As soon as they were gone, Yukio smiled. "They seemed in a bit of a rush to go, didn't they?"_

_"You scared them a little when you announced the Governor's arrival before being told about it yourself." I shook my head and straightened my brother's robes for him._

_"Ah, well." The cool-as-a-cucumber redhead shrugged and allowed me to fuss over him. "Who's the elder sibling here? I've forgotten."_

_"You can't go see the Governor all sweaty with your clothes wrinkled. You don't take care of things yourself, so I have to deal with them." I took a wet cloth and wiped his brow._

_"We're all sweaty in this terrible, muggy haze of ever-falling mist." Yukio countered, his lopsided grin plastered to his face along with a few stray bits of hair, making him look ever so endearing. "Besides, I'm a governor too, and I'm of a higher rank. Who cares how I look?"_

_"Yes, yes." I fished a brush out of his dresser drawer and set out to tame his short hair; by that time it was only halfway down his back. "He's lower sixth rank, and you're upper fifth. You wear red robes while he wears light blue; big difference there. Besides, _I _care how you look. Won't you please try to look presentable for _me_?"_

_"If you ask like that." My imp of a brother kissed me on the forehead and stole away the brush to be used on my own messy locks._

_"Do I look okay?" I fiddled with the hem of my robes as he made me stand still to be made up._

_"You always look gorgeous, Hao." My happy-go-lucky friend laughed at my concern. "Don't worry about what people think so much; you're beyond them."_

_"Says the one who was born to his station." I grumbled. "I still can't help but think sometimes that I don't deserve to be here."_

_He easily waved away my protests and dolled me up further. "No, you, above anyone else I've ever met, have earned your place here. You've worked hard as my student, and you've learned court behavior even better than I ever bothered to. You're a natural, my dearest darling. You belong here." He gave my long tresses a final brush before smirking wickedly. "Now, are you ready to wow the Governor with your beauty?"_

_"Yes, Yukio." I murmured halfheartedly._

_"Try to enjoy yourself." He urged. "Just because I hate these public gatherings doesn't mean that you have to as well. I hear he's very good at Go. Perhaps you'll get to play him. You could beat him if you cheated."_

_I rolled my eyes, sighing at his teasing. "You plan to cheat to win against him, don't you?"_

_"I do. I was born with this gift of insight, so why don't I just use it?"_

_"I can beat him without reading his mind." I shrugged and headed to the screen door._

_"There's no doubt in my mind about that." Yukio gave one last laugh before resuming his cool demeanor and following me out into the hallway._

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Mikau: Well, I hope you all enjoyed it. I'll try to update as soon as possible, but I don't know what the internet situation is going to be like in China. Until then!


	14. The Governor's Visit

Mikau: After an extremely long hiatus, I'm finally posting these chapters since I noticed that people still actually read this fic. These chapters are from several years ago, and that is the last time that I edited them. I apologize for any errors, but I am just posting whatever I have, as is, for those of you that enjoy this story. It is still incomplete, and I apologize for that, but I do not plan on working on this fic any time soon. However, I am an active Detective Conan/Magic Kaito writer on this site, so if you enjoy those, please feel free to come check me out. My style has changed a lot from the time when I used to write fics with OCs in the first person, and I'd like to think that I've improved drastically since then.

Disclaimer: I own nothing except my OCs, and I do not take any personal responsibility for anything the me of several years ago wrote. If you have any complaints, you'll have to use a time machine and talk to the nineteen year-old Mikau because twenty-two year-old Mikau hardly remembers what she wrote back then. Well, without further ado, please enjoy. My sincerest thanks for taking an interest in my work. Take care!

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The Governor's Visit

_ The Governor from the south was a tall, rigid man. He sat upon his cushion as if it were made from stone, and he never showed genuine emotion. Though, I could tell he was afraid as Yukio and I entered. They bowed and exchanged pleasantries, as was the custom. He never once took his eyes off my brother for the duration of the night. It was as if he feared the red-haired shaman would attack him if he looked away._

_ "Yukio-sama, it has been a very long time since we have met face-to-face. You've grown into a fine young man." The visiting nobleman shed a small, fond smile for my brother._

_ "Thank you, my lord. That is a very kind thing for you to say. I see the years have treated you kindly and given you many fine children." Yukio adopted his formal tone, pretending to be a grand gentleman in front of his guest._

_ "You were fortunate to be appointed governor after your father's untimely death, Yukio-sama. I would hate to think of what would have become of you without the kindness of the Emperor. You were so young, and you had no influential male relatives, other than your esteemed uncle, the monk Densen, to support you, and the path of the holy man is no life for one as beautiful as you, my lord." The governor from the south breeched a rather personal subject._

_ "Yes, I am quite lucky." Yukio managed a solemn smile. "The Emperor has always looked after me even though my rank is nothing to bat an eye at because of my father's low rank."_

_ "I hear you are to be raised to the fourth rank come the appointments in autumn, my lord." The older gentleman smirked pointedly._

_ This seemed to surprise my brother. "Oh? This is the first I've heard of this. The fourth rank is quite unusual for a governor. The Emperor is quite a generous man."_

_ "His Majesty intends to appoint you a Consultant or Controller. He wants to move you to the capital to be closer to him. He knows that you are ill, and he wants to make sure his favorite nephew is well cared for."_

_ I balked at this. I had never known my protector to be the nephew of the Emperor himself. Clearly Yukio sensed my shock, and replied to me in his thoughts. _'My mother was Princess Miyuki, the Emperor's full sister. She married far below herself because she fell in love.'

_He replied to this news rather somberly, as if it pained him. "This might be good news for me, my lord. I thank you for informing me. However I hate to leave this place I have grown very fond of, I have someone else's future to think of now, and I can't keep him here where there is nothing for him. Moving to the capital is a wise course of action."_

_ "You mean this young boy? Is this your son, Yukio-sama?" The older noble cautiously inquired. "His face and yours have much in common."_

_ The young lord smiled brightly, clearly amused at the idea. "No, no, my lord. I have no son, but this young man is my brother, Hao."_

_ "I had no idea that Her Highness Princess Miyuki and Tsuneo-san had another son!" Our guest tried to keep the conversation going with idle chitchat._

_ "I assure you, I am the only son of the former governor and his wife, but Hao is my brother, all the same. I took him as my brother and heir after his mother was murdered by my uncle, the monk Densen." The corner of my savior's mouth twitched when the name left his lips, but he carried on in a pleasant manner. "Though, now I am thinking that he would be better suited to work at the Bureau."_

_ "'Bureau', my lord?" I eyed my brother suspiciously as the other governor questioned him. This was the first that I had heard about this matter._

_ "As an onmyouji." The rumored fox in disguise elaborated. "He's a master already. I had originally intended to suggest to His Majesty that Hao would make a very good governor after I passed on, but now I'm of the opinion that he would be wasted here. The Bureau is a much better fit for his talents."_

_ "So then, he has powers like yours, Yukio-sama?" Our visitor began to sweat nervously, realizing there were two possibly dangerous men in the room with him instead of just the one known threat._

_ "Yes, my lord. I fear he may even be more powerful than I one day, don't you think so, Hao?" My elder sibling ran his fingers through my hair, smiling gently down at me._

_ "I fear you overestimate me, Yukio-niisan." I raised my sleeve to cover the lower half of my face like an embarrassed maiden._

_ I could see Tanaka-san wince out of the corner of my eye at my semi-familiar use of his master's name._

_ "Don't be so bashful." My partner in crime pretended to chide me. "You know how strong you are."_

_ "But it's embarrassing, you praising me in front of all these people." I took out my folding fan and batted it slowly, effectively cooling myself and hiding my smirk._

_ The screen door slid open, and one of the more well bred serving girls came in carrying the Go board. She bowed to the lord of the house, the visiting governor, and then myself, saying, "My Lords, Hao-sama." She spared a small smile secretly for me. "The Go board, as you requested, Yukio-sama."_

_ "Thank you." My brother nodded, acknowledging her as the other servants took the board and began to set up the game. Yukio stopped the young girl as she was about to leave. "If you have no other pressing matters to attend to, please stay and watch. I do so enjoy your company. Take a seat by my brother, if you will."_

_ The brown-haired girl smiled softly and bowed again. "Thank you, my lord. If it pleases, my lord."_

_ I blushed as she glanced my way. Her name was Tsuta. She was the daughter of a governor of a small province, a friend of Yukio's father, who had died, leaving her with no support or protection. She had come to Yukio's father's estate when she was a very small child, and she had happily lived there doing small jobs ever since. She was two years older than myself, and, other than my brother, I thought her to be the most beautiful creature I had ever seen._

_ "I hear you are the best Go player of all Japan. It's been so long since we last had a game. Would you care to play, my lord?" Yukio smiled kindly, inviting the senior governor into his trap._

_ "Ah, yes. The last time we played was while you were in mourning for your mother. That was the last time I saw you; how long ago has that been? You're so much bigger now, and I'm sure your skill at Go has greatly improved."_

_ "I'm sure it has." Yukio's lips pressed together in a thin line at the thought of his mother. I could feel the sadness within his soul. "That would have been almost eight years ago."_

_ "Then let us play for old time's sake, and, then, let the winner play your charming little brother. Has he any skill at Go?" The older man grinned, never thinking he would lose to a couple of children._

_ "Go, shogi, and others, yes. More skill than I, I'm afraid." Yukio smirked and made the opening move. It was over quickly. Yukio saw every one of his opponent's moves coming, and he thwarted each and every attempt._

_ "You played well, my lord." Yukio shot a sly grin at the older man. "I must have gotten lucky to have won. Perhaps some goddess has fallen in love with me."_

_ "Ah, yes. That must be it." Our guest dabbed nervously at his brow with a cloth. _'Or you're a fox spirit like they say. He saw every one of my moves before I had even decided to make it.'

_ I gave a start as I overheard his thoughts. That was the first time I had ever heard someone of rank think ill of Yukio. I had known that the servants and lower class officials feared my brother and cursed him in their minds, but I had never heard anyone who was supposed to be cultured and refined speak in the same course tones about the one person I truly loved. It angered me. I thought that those below him didn't know any better because of their station, but I was greatly saddened to find that all humans were cruel, heartless, parasites that didn't understand._

'Don't worry about what he thinks. It really doesn't bother me, so it shouldn't bother you.'_ My brother discretely squeezed my hand and gave me a smile to make you shiver in delight. "Would you like to play me at Go or shogi, Hao?"_

_ "If it would please you, Yukio-niisan." I sighed, not feeling any better._

_ "Cheer up and pay attention to the game or else you won't beat me, Hao. Whatever has got you so depressed all of the sudden?" Yukio pretended to press me, already knowing the answer._

_ "It must be the weather." I shrugged. "It has been so gloomy out for so long, and the humidity is simply unbearable, is it not?" I put on a fake smile for him, knowing I had to behave well in front of the company. "Shall I beat you at a game of shogi, my dear older brother?"_

_ "Yes, I believe you shall." My great friend predicted._

_ And so it came to pass. We only made a few moves before Yukio sighed, saying, "Well, that ends it. If I move here, he will move there. Next, I, here, him there, and in a few moves, I will be quite finished."_

_ "You played a good game, brother." I consoled him as best as I could knowing full well that he didn't give a care about shogi. Chess was his game, and it only mattered if I beat him at that._

_ "As did you. I told you, my lord, Hao is such a clever boy, quite skilled." Yukio boasted._

_ "Yes, I can see that, Yukio-sama. It was almost as if he could read your mind and know your every move." The elderly governor dabbed again and again at his forehead and neck, gazing back and forth between my brother and myself. "If you will excuse me, my lord, I find myself a bit ill and feel I should retire for the night. Thank you for your generous entertainment." Now he feared me as well._

_ "But of course, my lord. I do hope you enjoyed yourself. Why don't we all retire for the night? It has become quite late, has it not?" My brother replied with a sly smirk, signaling everyone that the fun was quite over for just then._

_ I returned to the room I had always shared with my brother and waited for him to join me. I sat up all night reading, but he didn't come until dawn was about to break._

_ "Hao. What are you doing up at this hour?" He was startled to see me and came to my side at once._

_ "Where have you been?" I asked with no attempt at tact. He smelled like lady's perfume. "I waited up for you all night, and you never came, Yukio."_

_ He sighed, taking off his daytime robes and slipping into his nighttime attire. "I was calling upon a lady. Forgive me, it was careless and rude of me not to inform—"_

_ "—You don't have to talk that way with me." I interrupted, rather put out by his tone. "It's just us, so you can quit acting."_

_ Another heart wrenching sigh from my elder sibling as he sat down beside me. "Sorry, Hao. I meant to come here right after that little gathering, but I ran into someone in the hall. We started talking, and I ended up in their room to finish our discussion. I just realized how late it was, and I came back here as soon as I did. I really am sorry; I hope I didn't worry you too much."_

_ "Who is she?" He wasn't out of the doghouse yet. I was extremely upset that he would forget about me so easily for a woman, and he wouldn't even admit to what they were really doing._

_ "Hao, I…we didn't—" He scrambled to explain as if I were his wife._

_ I cut him off brusquely. "—So I guess it wasn't Sayuri, your wife, come from the capital to call upon you. 'Miyako'? That's a strange name. She's just one of the serving girls, isn't she?"_

_ "I wish you wouldn't do that, Hao." He grumbled, upset with my powers._

_ "You know I can't help it." I huffed, truly angry with him for the first time._

_ "I know." He echoed softly, fetching his brush from the drawer and starting lovingly at my hair._

_ I tried to pull away from him, but he caught me in his arms from behind._

_ "Hao, don't be like that." He nuzzled my neck and whispered into my ear. "You know I'm not lying when I say all we did was talk. You know I feel horrible about worrying you like that. Talk to me; tell me what you want from me. You know I'd do anything that you asked. No matter what I feel for any woman, you know I'll always love you best."_

_ "I'm…I'm not opposed to you going off with a woman, if that's what you really want. I just don't want you to forget about me. You're the only one in this world who cares about me, and I'd die if you left me behind for someone like that. Just let me know when you're going to be gone at night, and always come back to me in the morning. That's all I want. Sorry I got mad at you."_

_ He shook his head, smiling like a dope at me. "No, I deserved it. It really was stupid of me to leave you alone like that. I'll have Faux come and tell you if I ever will be out unexpectedly, and she can stay with you to keep you company in my absence." The sprite made itself visible, turning into a cat and purring softly at me._

_ "That should be fine." I smiled, petting Faux behind her ear. "Try not to be gone too often, though. I miss you when you're not by my side."_

_ "I miss you too." He lay down, gazing up fondly at me. "I wish we could just stay like this together forever."_

_ "We could always reincarnate together at the end of this life." I suggested. "You said that I could control when and where I reincarnate if I get strong enough. I imagine that you already have that power. Is it attainable after just your first life?"_

_ He nodded, putting his palms behind his head like a pillow. "I managed it after my first life, and you're even stronger than I am, so I imagine you'll be able by the end."_

_ It was quiet for a moment before he broke the silence again. "How about we get married in the next life? That way we could be together every moment, and no one would question us or try to tear us apart the way they do now. I could always sleep by your side then. There would be no wife or other lovers to keep me away."_

_ I thought the idea over and smiled. "It would be a little strange being your husband, but I guess there's no one else I'd rather be with."_

_ "What about Tsuta? I know you have a crush on her." He teased, tugging the sleeve of my robe._

_ "She may not be there when we reincarnate together. Besides, I love you more." I could feel the blood rushing to my cheeks, and I knew I was blushing profusely._

_ My brother laughed at this, pulling me to lie down beside him. "I swear I'll find you in the next life, Hao. If it were up to me, I'd never leave your side. To be completely honest, you're the only one who's ever truly loved me for what I am. If others found out about my powers, they'd kill me out of fear. They already suspect me of being a fox spirit, and they won't accept me. It's been like that in all my many lives. I've always been different, and no one has ever reached a hand out to me like you did. You're the only one I can tell almost everything."_

_ "Why not _everything_, Yukio? I've never kept anything from you. Why would you need to hide anything from me?" I rolled over on my stomach to face him, my eyes peering into his soul._

_ He sighed and decided to tell the truth. "Hao, there's only one thing I've ever intentionally kept from you, and it's that…Hao, I'm very sick."_

_ I rolled my eyes at his folly. "Yukio, I knew that already. You never had to say anything about it because I could tell. Your body's very weak, and you get sick often, but you always manage to get better. For being so old, sometimes you're very silly, Yukio."_

_ "Yes." He smiled grimly. "You're right. It was silly to keep it from you." The fire-haired lord muttered under his breath. "Damn this infernal, frail body of mine. It's the only thing that keeps me from spending the rest of this life with you."_

_ He shook his head, thinking it useless to curse his fate, knowing it wouldn't change anything. He smiled, finally resigned to what his future was bound to be. Only, I didn't understand all this then._

_ He kissed me lightly on the cheek, his lips touching the corners of my own. "I love you. I promise to be a beautiful bride for you when we meet next time around."_

_ I blushed, knowing that he didn't mean anything indecent by it, even if it was something hard to explain to an outside party. I knew it was beyond our earthly bodies. Our souls understood each other, clung to each other, and overlapped somehow. No one had cared for me after my mother had died and Ohachiyo had left. No one except him, and, in turn, I was the only one to ever truly care for him, despite knowing the whole truth._

_ "Will you have red hair again?" I finally asked._

_ "I always have red hair." He chuckled. "Next time it will be much longer, though. I know how you disapprove of my short hair now, so next time, it'll be down to my calves, just like a real lady."_

_ "Promise?" I asked in a wave of youthful mirth._

_ "Promise." He responded. "Now, come to bed. You won't grow big and strong unless you get enough sleep."_


	15. The Parting

Disclaimer: I own only my OCs.

…

The Parting

I woke to find myself trapped in the present with a dying Façade and Faux in a Spirit of Fire cage on my desk. I dissolved the cage and caught the sprite in my hand before it could slip away.

He wiggled and morphed, turning into all manner of things, trying to free himself.

"Relax." I laughed at his foolishness and shear willpower. "I'm giving you back to your mistress, so you don't have to combat me like that."

The jiggling stopped, and the spirit remained a blob of light blue jelly in my hand.

"Could you please turn into something animaloid? It's always been a little strange for me conversing with you in Jell-O form."

Faux acquiesced to my request, changing into a garden-variety snake, tightly wound around my wrist. **'Happy?'**

"Very." I tried not to make much fuss about the loss of circulation to my arm.

**'What** made you change your mind about holding me **hostage?'** The little snake raised its head to stare blankly into my eyes.

"Façade and I made a deal, and so—despite my not being quite satisfied with the outcome—you're free to rejoin her." My unshakable smirk faded into a scowl. "Plus, your mistress is dying, and I don't want her to be alone and miserable. That would be cruel."

**'So** you recognize her, **Hao?'** The snake blinked…in a snaky sort of way.

"I do. Want to make something of it, Faux?" I growled, extracting the little menace from my left hand.

**'Not** **particularly.' **The beastie was still a sprite of few words.

"You've been with her for a long time, so, tell me, why doesn't she remember me?" I set the snake back on my desk in a coil and sank into the desk chair.

**'You're** not supposed to remember your other lives. You, Hao, are a special case. How my mistress is now is **normal.' **

"Why is she sick, Faux? Is there really nothing I can do?" I rested my head on the desk, inches away from the little terror, not fearing its form at all.

**'She's** cursed. It's been that way from the beginning. I can tell you no more of that matter. I cannot even tell the bearer of the curse herself. As for what you can do: **nothing.'**

"Nothing?" I echoed in despair.

**'Nothing.'** The sprite confirmed. **'Let** the curse take its course. It'll be over soon, and she can finally rest in peace for the remainder of eternity. If she completes her mission, she'll have nothing to worry about. She'll be an angel. You can see her again if your soul makes it to the same community within the Great Spirits. Don't be so depressed about her leaving because you're sure to see her again. If someone as despicable as she was can be granted angelhood, then you too can most surely reach the same height. The thing to do now is not mourn, but help her on her quest. I've said my **peace.' **With that, Faux turned back into a blue, squirming blob.

"Hmm." I sighed pensively. "Yes, I suppose there will be time to mourn after she's dead. Let's go check in on her, shall we?"

**'Let's.'** In a flash, the snake was around my neck like a boa.

"Isn't it a waste of energy to turn from a snake, into a blob, back into a snake in just a minute's time?" I inquired.

**'No.'** Was the curt reply.

I suddenly remembered the question I had wanted to ask before. "I have just one more question, I promise."

**'Ask.'** The morpher humored me.

"You were female when you were Yukio's spirit, but you were male when you were Fade's. You also appear to be male now; what gives?" I was curious enough to ask the pointless question.

**'Whichever** gender my master or mistress is born, I assume the **opposite.'**

"Why?" I had figured that out, but what I really wanted to know was the reason for it all.

**'Because** I fell in love with him in his first life. It's easier for me to love someone of the opposite gender. Didn't you have similar issues when my mistress was Yukio? Yet you had no problem getting yourself all tripped up over Fade, and you seem to be falling quite quickly for my new little **mistress.'**

"I wouldn't know about that." I blushed, fidgeting. "It's complicated because we don't know each other very well this time around. I kind of just see her as Fade, so, of course, I'm attracted to her. I'm not so sure if I actually care for this 'Façade', though. She's not ugly, that's for sure, but her personality isn't all that great. Besides, she's the one who kissed me!"

I could hear the little bugger laughing in my mind. "What? What's so funny? Sure I kissed her back, but—"

**'—It's** not that. She still has you calling her **"Façade"?'**

"That's not her real name, is it? I've hear worse—like Horokeu—so I really didn't question it. I just thought her mother didn't love her." I calmly reflected, trying not to get mad at her for lying about her identity.

**'She** doesn't like her real name—the name her father gave her. He's the only one who ever called her by it, so it's kind of their thing. She hasn't even let me call her by her real name since we left with the X-LAWS. Don't feel too bad about **it.'**

"Hao-sama!" Opacho burst into my tent to find me conversing with the snake around my neck. "SNAKE!" The poor child freaked out, his important message for me forgotten.

"It's okay, Opacho. This is Faux." I tried my best to calm the scared child.

"Oh." He blinked. "Façade is awake and escaping to Patch Village!"

"Troublesome girl." I growled under my breath as I teleported right in front of the escapee. "Where do you think you're going?"

"AAHHH!" She screamed, jumping back when she saw me. "D-don't f-follow me! H-how did you…" Her question was left unasked as she broke down in a coughing fit.

"Easy does it." I helped her to her feet as her coughing spell deteriorated. "I'm not here to stop you, 'Façade' or whatever it is your name is. I just came to return this poor excuse for a spirit to you as per our agreement."

Faux coiled himself more tightly around my neck at the insult to his competence.

"R-really?" My former jailee's blue eyes were a sea of confusion and delighted surprise.

"Of course." I handed over her spirit as it turned into a fluffy puppy and started licking her face. "Did you think that I would go back on my word? We did have a deal, if you remember."

"Yes. Thank you." She looked at me with new eyes as she prepared to set off. "You really aren't a bad person, are you?"

I turned quickly away from her so that she wouldn't see my uncharacteristic blush. "You're wrong. I'm a very bad person."

"I think I was too once." She replied meditatively, surprising me. "I got better, so there's hope for you, isn't there?"

"Opacho thinks so." The cute, African child appeared suddenly, jumping into the conversation as if he had been there all along.

"And what are you doing here in the middle of the desert, Opacho?" The X-LAW asked my ward. "Have you come to say goodbye to me? I wanted to thank you for being so kind to me while I was here. Could you thank Luca for me too? He was such a great help…he retrieved me from the brink of death more than a few times, I think."

"After Opacho gets back, he will. Opacho has come to escort you to town since the desert is dangerous." The orange-clad shaman replied with a grin.

"Thank you very much. I'll be glad to have the company until I can get lodging and figure out what the heck I'm doing next." She smiled shyly as Faux turned into a large blue roan. "Thank you for your hospitality, Hao…even if it was a little unorthodox, I think I'm glad I met you."

"Just go." I mumbled, my back still to her. "Don't come back unless you need something or are looking for a comfortable place to die. You've really only caused me nothing but trouble."

"You brought me upon yourself." She remarked stoically, unsure of how to feel about our unique situation. "I hope you don't regret anything between us. Like kidnapping me in the first place, I mean. Goodbye, Hao."

I couldn't take it. This would probably be the last time I saw her alive, and I didn't want things to end like that. In a moment of rash, hasty decisions, I spun around and caught her hands in mine. "You may have been nothing but trouble, but what I do and don't regret concerning you is in the past. I'll never forget you, so, please, for my sake, please, try to remember me and what I was to you."

I pulled her to me and kissed her. She was no longer my relative, and she was no longer engaged to another. Only her death could come between us now, and my only regret was that I had no time, so I withheld nothing, kissing her with the passion I had been holding back for one thousand years. And then I disappeared, leaving her standing there in the middle of the desert, wide-eyed and extremely dazed.

"O-opacho?" She stuttered. "Who was that man really?"

A few minutes passed without either of them coming up with an answer. They mounted the horse and began to ride off towards town, all the while with her thinking, _'And what was he to me?'_


	16. The Vipera's Mark

Disclaimer: I own only my OCs.

…

The Vipera's Mark

I had finally finished my morning training, and Anna had allowed me to go out on the town with the guys. Chocolove was trying to get Manta and Ryu to laugh at his jokes while Ren and Horohoro fought over the most trivial things. All and all it was a typical day.

We were window-shopping in the market, unable to afford any of the traditional Patch folk crafts, when I came upon a fruit stand. I reached out to pick up an orange, but my hand came to rest upon a smaller, paler one. I looked up into two sapphire blue orbs that shared my own surprise.

The eyes belonged to a fairly pretty redhead in a black halter-top, black jacket, and black capris. She looked completely incredulous.

I withdrew my hand, scratched nervously at the back of my neck, and apologized. "I'm sorry. I didn't see—"

"—I told you not to follow me!" She snapped. "And what the hell was that kiss?! And what did you do to your hair…?" The strange girl's hand gently stroked my short locks.

I caught her hand in my own and stared her right in the eye. "I know you, don't I?"

"This is Yoh-sama, Hao-sama's younger twin." Opacho, Hao's youngest follower jumped up onto the fruit stand to be seen.

"Oh!" The redhead pulled back, her cheeks all the sudden looking sunburnt. "Forgive me. You look just like him. I thought…"

"That I was Hao." I completed the unfinished thought for her.

Right about this time, the others noticed the two new faces. And they recognized Opacho.

Ren blew up in a fit of rage. "What the duce is that minion doing here?"

"Hey guys," I tried to calm them, "I don't think they want any trouble."

But to no avail. "Like hell they don't want trouble!" Horo engaged his over soul and lunged at Opacho. "They're Hao's minions, of course they want trouble!"

The girl grabbed her companion and jumped out of the way. In seconds she was back on her feet. Actually, she was suddenly standing on top of a blue elephant's back. "I am not a minion!" She screamed, and a gust of wind slammed Horohoro back and forth into building after building until he was unconscious.

One minute the girl in black was a ferocious opponent, but the next she had fallen to her knees in a flurry of coughs. The elephant slowly disappeared and deposited her on the ground.

Opacho ran around like a turkey in November as the poor girl stopped breathing. "Help! Help! Façade needs a doctor immediately! She is very sick!"

I checked her pulse, and, to my horror, she was fading fast. I lay her flat on the ground and prepared to give her mouth-to-mouth. I was shocked when milliseconds after my lips touched hers, she shoved me off, moaning, "You _are_ just like your brother, _aren't_ you?"

I was thoroughly befuddled at this point, but I guessed what mattered most was making sure she was okay. "Are you all right, Miss? You stopped breathing. I know a doctor close by, please allow me to take you to him. My name's Yoh, by the way."

"Yeah." She shuddered, trying to breathe. "A doctor would be good. You can use my horse."

"Horse?" Manta echoed, looking around.

Out of thin air, a black stallion appeared, kneeling to make lifting his mistress onto his back easier.

I didn't complain, putting her on and then mounting behind her, putting my arms around her so that she didn't fall. "There are no reins." I observed.

"Just think of where you want to go. Faux'll get you there." The girl rested her head on my shoulder, slipping in and out of consciousness.

"I didn't get your name." I probed for answers as the horse galloped along in, surprisingly, the right direction. The steed even seemed to know the shortcuts back to the Patch Inn.

"Most people call me 'Façade'." She mumbled.

I tried to keep her talking and conscious. "But what did your mom and dad name you?"

"I've sworn never to tell a soul." And she blacked out.

Fortunately, we could see the inn, and Faust had come out to greet us. He took the patient upstairs and gave her a thorough examination. "She's dying." He announced when he came out of the upstairs room.

"WHAT?!" Horohoro exclaimed. "I didn't hit her that hard, and she walloped me nearly to death! How can she be dying?!"

"Façade has been sick for a very long time." My brother's little sidekick informed us. "She's dying of her disease."

"What does she have?" I queried solemnly at the news.

"No one knows. Luca says no one gets this disease anymore." The little munchkin nodded somberly.

"Do you know what all of the symptoms are?" Faust inquired, his interest peaked.

"Trouble breathing, coughing spells, weak lungs, weak heart, memory loss, and spitting up blood." Façade peeked her head around the corner into the dinning room. "I've had those symptoms from birth, but they've just gotten all the worse as I've aged. Um…is there any food? I hate to intrude like this, but I haven't eaten all day, and we've traveled very far."

"Of course!" Ryu jumped to his feet, ready to make a five-course meal at the drop of a dime. "What would the beautiful, young mistress like?"

"Just some soup and bread, please, or fruit or salad or whatever you happen to have. I'll eat anything; I'm absolutely starving." She gave a small smile of embarrassment at having to impose.

"Right away, Madam!" And Ryu was gone to prepare something delicious.

"Tell me, Miss Façade, do you believe in reincarnation?" Faust questioned his ward as she took a seat with us at the table.

"I do." The pretty girl nodded.

"Then how old would you say your soul is, if you had to guess?" The Inquisition continued.

"Very old, I suppose." Façade replied after a bit of thought. "More than a few thousand years."

"And that spirit of yours is a morphing sprite by the name of Foe, is it not?" The doctor was getting more excited with each added question and response.

"Yes, Faux is a morphing sprite. We've been together since the very beginning, I'm told. Is answering these questions going to help diagnose me or something, Dr. Faust? Because I don't think there's a cure yet, and I really don't have much longer, days really, before I die." She turned to thank Ryu as he set down a steaming bowl of fish stew in front of her.

"One final question, Miss Façade, and I think I can answer why you are so sick even if I cannot cure you. Would you like to know?"

"I would. Is that the final question?" She heartily dug into her meal, only half paying attention to Faust's side of the conversation.

"No. Here it is: do you happen to have two red scars on your back just below your left shoulder blade?" The necromancer's eyes were positively glowing in anticipation.

Our guest froze, looked up at her physician, and set down her spoon. Her face was pale and her eyes glossy. "How in the world did you know that? Yes, they're birthmarks that look like some kind of old wound. They're exactly where you said they would be. How did you know? No one knows about that. I always make sure they're covered."

"I fear that those 'birthmarks' are a symptom. Your pale skin and red hair too mark you as a carrier of the disease." Faust somberly diagnosed.

"What is it?" The dying girl whispered.

"It's called the Vipera's Mark. The disease, they say, is a curse from the earliest beginnings of time. Would you like to hear the legend behind the disease? I first heard it when I was looking for a way to resurrect my beloved Eliza."

"Please tell us." Façade had abandoned her soup by now, and we completely entranced by what Faust had to say.

_There once was a village to the very north. The people all had very pale skin that you could almost see through and light blue eyes. Everyone there had the lightest hair you had ever seen_

_ And yet, one year in this village, there was born a boy with hair as red as blood, snowy skin, and eyes as dark as the pits of hell. They feared the boy, for he was different. _

_ He grew up with only his twin sister's company. No one else would even come near. So the boy gradually fell in love with his sister, the only fellow being that had ever loved him._

_ Alas, she knew it was wrong, and she could not return his feelings. She drifted slowly away from him, fearing what everyone would think._

_ This distressed the young man, and he turned to unconventional means to win her affections. He used dark magic to gain horrible powers. He could bend free will and enchant others. He could summon and control demons, read minds, and know the past, present, and future._

_ His sister fell to his spells and soon found herself with child. When their parents discovered this, she was burned at the stake. The man too they tried to burn, but by that time, it was too late, and he was already too powerful._

_ He killed his parents in revenge and set out to revive his beloved. Try as he might, he was unable to reclaim her. He delved even further into the dark realm and became as a god. He was feared by angels and demons alike._

_ A meeting was called, and all manner of spirits came—good, evil, indifferent, powerful, and weak. They all came together to try to stop this man before he managed to destroy everything._

_ They selected a spirit to go down and obliterate him as he slept, destroying his soul so that he could never reincarnate. Her name was Lamia. She went down as the young man slept and prepared to strike._

_ A moonbeam came in through the window, illuminating the boy's face at that time, and she realized in that moment how beautiful he was._

_ He opened his eyes and smiled at her. He knew why she was there, but he just smiled and invited her into his bed._

_ Entranced, she lay with him, and when he fell asleep again, she found herself unable to completely destroy him after all. She knew what she had to do, but she found it suddenly impossible._

_ But still he had to die, so Lamia transformed into a snake and pressed her fangs into the soft flesh below his left shoulder blade. Her fangs punctured his heart and lungs, and the venom seeped into his blood, poisoning his entire being._

_ "For now, you must die, my love." Lamia whispered as he lay bleeding, gasping for air. "But instead of disappearing forever, I offer you a second chance at life. But, my love, I fear you must be punished. Until you have repented, each life you will be cursed. Your hair and skin will serve to mark you so all will know of your misdeeds. Your lungs and heart will eventually fail you, and your memories will gradually slip away. You will have no family, no descendants. But, my love, you will always have me. I will stay by your side until the very end when you redeem yourself and become an angel. I will not leave you to suffer alone."_

_ The boy scoffed at this. "You are no 'love' of mine, my dear. You are but my dearest foe. If I must die and suffer like this, all that live in this village must too. Let them cough and faint and feel themselves slip away until this village is lost in time itself. I will not endure this alone!"_

_ It is said that that night the young man died, and the next morning, the entire village fell ill. They all did die in time, and now nothing remains where that village once stood. Only this legend survives, and the soul of the young man wanders the earth still to this day, repenting for his numerous sins against god, nature, and man._

"That is how the legend goes." Faust ended with a smile. "As you have the symptoms, I can only assume that you share the same soul as that young man from the legend."

"You think I'm some reincarnation of a psychotic, perverted, mass murdering, satanic, egotist?" Façade blinked, trying to absorb all of this new, startling information.

"You have the mark and the symptoms. Ask you spirit, if you doubt me." The necromancer shrugged.

"Faux?" The confused shaman called. "What can you tell me about all of this?"

**'Nothing**, my mistress. I am sworn to **secrecy.' **I could hear the morpher respond in my mind.

"By whom?!" The redhead shouted, just about to lose her cool.

**'The** highest **authorities.'** Faux simply responded, changing into a cat and taking a seat on the table.

"At least tell me if what he says is true!" His mistress insisted.

**'It is.'**

"So I was…so you were…so I did…all that? It's all true?" Her questions were left unanswered. "So…if this is my last life, I'll become an angel by redeeming myself by delivering the message and completing my mission. It's as simple as that, right? So what happens if I don't complete my mission?"

**'You'll **be sentenced to hell, I** suppose.' **Faux replied.

She stared blankly for a minute into her stew bowl, letting it all sink in. Then she looked up at me. "Yoh, would you happen to have a piece of paper and an envelope?"

"Yes, in the kitchen." I replied. "I'll go get them for you."

After I returned, she headed up to the room she had been sleeping in before. She locked the door, not even allowing Faux to accompany her, and didn't come down for an hour or so. When she did, she handed the sealed envelope back to me, saying, "Could you please give this to your brother after I'm dead? It would mean a lot to me."

"Of course." I accepted the letter, placing it in my back pocket for safekeeping. "Is there anything else I can do for you, Façade?"

"No…" She sighed. "I wish there was something, but I think there's only one person who can help me now. I have to get my memories back and deliver the message so that all I've worked for these thousands of years doesn't go to waste. Thank you for your help, everyone." She scooped up her spirit and started for the door. "Let's go, Opacho."

"Wait." I grabbed her hand just as she was about to leave. "Don't I know you from somewhere? Some part of my soul feels like we've known each other a very, very long time."

She turned and smiled. "That's the part of you that you share with Hao. The part of your soul that you share with him remembers me…because he swore he would always know me no matter what we looked like or when we found each other again. Goodbye, Yoh; perhaps we too will meet again someday."

"Miss Façade, where are we going?" Opacho asked as I helped him up onto Faux back.

"We're going back, Opacho. Back to the one person who can save me now." She spurred her horse into a gallop, and that was the last time I saw her alive.


End file.
